Restaurant tech executive moves: who just got the keys to the tech stack
A new CTO or CIO at a restaurant chain usually means the tech stack gets a fresh look. If you sell POS, ordering, loyalty, labor or back-office software, that's your window. This page tracks every sourced tech leadership hire we have: chain CTOs, CIOs and digital chiefs, plus CEO changes at the vendors you compete with or partner with. 25 of them were announced in 2026. The rest go back to 2023 for context.
Most recent: Jon Tryzbiak, CIO at Red Lobster (2026-10-07); Andy Pitts, CMO at Red Lobster (2026-10-07); Anand Tomar, CTO at Theobroma (2026-10-07). Older hires stay on the list because a CTO who started in 2024 is often the one running the RFP now. Newest first in every section.
New CTOs (16)
Chief technology officers, including combined tech roles like CITO and CTIO.
| Date | Company | Person | Role | Category / note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-07 | Theobroma | Anand Tomar | CTO | Chain tech leadership (India) | source |
| 2026-10-01 | Hot Head Burritos | Peter Wiley | CMO & CTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2026-07 | Dairy Queen | Phil Crawford | CTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2026-05 | Wonder | Antonio Silveria | CTO | Food hall / delivery | source |
| 2026-03 | El Pollo Loco | Vadim Parizher | CTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2026-03-09 | Lou Malnati's | Jeff Douglas | CTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2026-02-03 | HungerRush | Anuja Gokhale | CTO | POS / restaurant software | source |
| 2025-12 | Starbucks | Anand Varadarajan | CTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2025-01 | Shake Shack | Justin Mennen | CITO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2024-12 | Dutch Bros | Venki Krishnababu | CTIO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2024-06 | CKE Restaurants | Justin Falciola | CTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2024-05 | Inspire Brands | Yasir Anwar | CTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2023-12 | Walk-On's | Tyler Schack | VP Technology | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2023-10 | Just Salad | Matt Silverman | CTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2023-07 | Puttshack | Ben Shepherd | CITO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2023-04 | Capriotti's & Wing Zone | Scott Wessel | CTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
New CIOs (10)
Chief information officers. Often the person who signs off on POS, network and back-office systems.
| Date | Company | Person | Role | Category / note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-07 | Red Lobster | Jon Tryzbiak | CIO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2026-02 | CEC Entertainment | Nathan Hunstable | CIO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2026-02 | Freddy's | Todd Paladini | CIO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2025-05 | FAT Brands | Drew Martin | CIO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2024-12 | Dave & Buster's | Steve Klohn | CIO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2024-11 | Smoothie King | Jyoti Lynch | CIO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2024-09 | First Watch | Rob Conti | CIO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2024-05 | Portillo's | Keith Correia | CIO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2024-02 | Wendy's | Matt Spessard | CIO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2023-12 | Wingstop | Chris Fallon | CIO | Chain tech leadership | source |
New digital chiefs (11)
Chief digital officers and chief digital and technology officers. Apps, loyalty, ordering and the data behind them.
| Date | Company | Person | Role | Category / note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-06 | Domino's Pizza Indonesia | Rajesh Grover | Group CDTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2026-08-27 | KFC UK & Ireland | Jon-Paul Brett | CDTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2026-08-24 | Dave & Buster's | Kevin Fish | Chief Technology & Digital Officer | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2026-04 | GoTo Foods | Biplav Misra | CDO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2024-09 | Papa Johns | Kevin Vasconi | CDTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2024-07 | Zaxby's | Chris Kung | CDO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2024-01 | Yum Brands | Joe Park | CDTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2023-10 | Denny's | Pankaj Patra | CDTO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2023-08 | Craveworthy Brands | Warwick McLaren | VP Digital Tech | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2023-07 | KFC | Paul Tuscano | CDO | Chain tech leadership | source |
| 2023-01 | Nextbite | Vikram Raghavan | CDO | Virtual brands | source |
New CEOs at restaurant tech vendors (8)
When a vendor changes CEO, the roadmap, pricing and partner list usually move too.
| Date | Company | Person | Role | Category / note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07 | Zonal | Joel Chapman | CEO | POS / hospitality tech (UK) | source |
| 2026-07-08 | Nesto | Matt Baumgartner | CEO | Workforce mgmt (EU) Ex-Toast | source |
| 2026-05-26 | Restaurant Technologies | Alissa Partee | CEO | Kitchen automation / oil mgmt Promoted from COO | source |
| 2026-04-29 | Onosys | Chris Anderle | CEO | Online ordering Promoted internally | source |
| 2026-03-12 | Fourth | Scott Collison | CEO | Workforce / inventory | source |
| 2026-02-05 | Cervion Systems | Louis Aurrichio | CEO | POS reseller / services | source |
| 2025-08 | Presto | Michael Chorey | CEO | AI drive-thru | source |
| 2025-05-05 | HungerRush | Bill Mitchell | CEO | POS | source |
Other moves (6)
Sales, revenue, marketing and board seats worth knowing about.
| Date | Company | Person | Role | Category / note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-07 | Red Lobster | Andy Pitts | CMO | Chain digital / loyalty leadership | source |
| 2026-Q3 | Qu | Paul Rubin | Not stated | POS (enterprise QSR) | source |
| 2026-07-08 | Hostie | Jeff Jones | Head of Sales | AI concierge / reservations Former OpenTable exec | source |
| 2026-05-11 | Smooth Commerce | Jeff Mirmelstein | CRO | Ordering / loyalty Ex-Grubhub | source |
| 2026-04-21 | Tenzo | Jane O'Riordan | Chair | Analytics / AI | source |
| 2024-07 | Brinker | Frank Liberio | Board | Chain tech leadership | source |
Spot a restaurant tech hire we missed? Tip us at tips@menumoves.com. New moves go out in the Tuesday email first.