Chris Padoan appointed chief operating officer of Popeyes

Padoan brings nearly 15 years of experience with Restaurant Brands International sibling chain Burger King, where he built his career in field leadership roles. Most recently, he served as regional vice president of the South Region, where he worked closely with franchisees and restaurant teams to improve operational improvements and performance.

Padoan’s restaurant career began as a teenager in the industry, gaining experience in both the front and back of house. He worked his way up to owner/operator of Penguin’s Paradise Café & Dessert Bar in Ocoee, Fla., according to his LinkedIn profile. He spent six years overseeing the concept before onboarding at Burger King.

“Chris is a highly respected leader who has spent his career working side-by-side with franchisees and restaurant teams,” Popeyes president Peter Perdue said in a statement. “His deep operational expertise and strong track record in the field make him the right leader to help us continue improving restaurant execution and delivering a great guest experience across the Popeyes system.”

Padoan joins Popeyes as the chicken chain looks to turn around several quarters of negative sales. Perdue was hired as president in November to reverse recent trends, bringing his experience serving as COO of Burger King where he was instrumental in that brand’s Reclaim the Flame turnaround strategy. Perdue recently told analysts that Popeyes’ needs are “fairly light in touch and scope.” Operational improvements are a big part of his plan, and Popeyes recently increased its field team by about 75%.

“We’re excited to get them out in the field and into the markets where our franchisees need the extra hands on deck to improve service,” Perdue said during RBI’s Investor Day last month. “We’re working on restaurant training — hand-to-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder work with our franchisees.”