Dive Brief:
- Jack in the Box has appointed Dawn Hooper, a 25-year company veteran and serial interim principal financial officer, as its CFO on a permanent basis, the fast food restaurant chain announced in a press release Wednesday.
- Hooper, 54, is taking the financial reins after stepping up in recent years to serve multiple interim stints during CFO leadership transition periods, according to a securities filing. She acted as interim principal financial officer from August 2020 to January 2021, as interim CFO from February 2023 to August 2023 and most recently served as interim principal financial officer since October.
- The San Diego, California-based company’s C-suite has been shaken up in recent months. Lance Tucker, who the company tapped late last year to serve a second stint as CFO, abruptly shifted in February to take on the role of interim principal executive officer after CEO Darin Harris resigned to take the CEO post at the franchise system manager Goddard Systems. In March, Tucker was named permanent CEO.
Dive Insight:
The leadership changes come as the company is pursuing an “asset-light” business model, announcing last month that it would close 150-200 underperforming restaurants. Like many quick service restaurants, Jack in the Box has been working to prevent a disastrous drop in same-store sales, reviving its suit-wearing clown mascot for a series of media appearances and pushing value messaging with its Munchies Under $4 menu, CFO Dive sister publication Restaurant Dive reported.
Hooper has more than 30 years of experience in accounting and finance. Before joining Jack in the Box, she started her career at KPMG, where she worked from 1993 to 2000. In addition to her interim roles, she has most recently served as senior vice president, controller at the restaurant chain since December 2022.
Hooper’s compensation, in connection with her appointment as CFO effective May 26, will be $620,000, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Her target incentive potential under the company’s annual performance incentive Plan will be 75% of base salary, the company said in the filing, and her annual long term incentive award LTI value will be $750,000.
Hooper’s Jack in the Box bonafides were cited by Tucker in a statement included in the release on her appointment this week.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with [Hooper] throughout my tenure at the company, including during my time as CFO from 2018 to 2020, when her guidance and partnership were invaluable,” Tucker said in the statement. “She has been instrumental in supporting the company through periods of transformation, and the board and I have full confidence in her ability to lead our finance organization as we execute on our JACK on Track plan and beyond.”
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
