Papa John's turnaround has yet to take hold with consumers. / Bloomberg Papa John's turnaround has yet to take hold with consumers. / Bloomberg
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Former OpenTable Executive Joins Papa John’s Board

Papa John’s is getting more help in the midst of its turnaround in the form of two digitally savvy board members.

The pizza chain announced on Thursday that two new members will be joining the company’s board: Jocelyn Mangan, a former executive at OpenTable and Snagajob and founder and CEO of Him For Her, as well as Michael Dubin, founder and CEO of Dollar Shave Club.

Mangan brings a deep-seated knowledge of restaurant technology innovation to the company. She previously spent over a decade in various product management roles at OpenTable, and also sits on the board at online food ordering platform ChowNow. Dublin is expected to lend operational and marketing expertise to the beleaguered chain.

“We expect their skills and insights to contribute to the positive actions we have underway to capitalize on Papa John’s ‘BETTER INGREDIENTS. BETTER PIZZA’ market position,” Jeff Smith, chairman of Papa John’s board of directors, said in a statement.

Papa John’s reported a dismal state of affairs at its last quarterly earnings report. Comparable store sales dropped 7 percent, while overall revenue plummeted by 12 percent in 2018. The chain also paid out millions of dollars to struggling franchisees who were affected by the negative media attention surrounding the antics of Papa John’s former CEO, John Schnatter.

“The North American results are disappointing to all of us, and continue to reflect the consumer’s sentiment challenges our brand has experienced in the U.S.,” Steve Ritchie, Papa John’s CEO, said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call with analysts.

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