Following the departure of Marvin Boakye in early November 2022, Papa Johns named Elias Reyna as its new chief variety officer.
Elias Reyna, Chief Range Officer of Papa Johns
Papa Johns
Reyna, who began Nov. 28, will oversee recruiting, administration, compensation and advantages, in addition to variety, fairness and inclusion technique for the pizza model.
Reyna’s predecessor, Boakye, resigned from Papa Johns efficient Nov. 4 to take up the CHRO position at Cummins, a tech firm.
As chief variety officer, Boakye navigated a sticky time in Papa Johns’ DEI historical past. Six months earlier than he began, Papa Johns’ founder John Schnatter resigned because of backlash round his use of the “N” phrase on a name between Papa Johns’ C-suite and an exterior PR crew.
In summer season 2018, Forbes detailed Papa Johns’ poisonous office tradition. The story, through which staff alleged gender-based and sexual harassment, was the byproduct of interviews with greater than three dozen then-current and former board members and executives.
Following the story, a spokesperson advised Forbes {that a} particular board of administrators committee would audit Papa Johns’ firm tradition “and make suggestions for no matter adjustments could also be crucial.” Archived variations of the senior management web page in June, July and August 2018 indicated that, throughout this time, Papa Johns didn’t have a chief variety officer listed.
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With Boakye within the C-suite, variety, fairness and inclusion grew to become a extra obvious a part of the pizza firm’s targets. Its public strategic DEI targets embody embedding insurance policies that guarantee equity, construct belief and maintain management accountable; rewarding behaviors that foster belonging or enhance worker engagement, and diversifying the management pipeline by “attracting, recruiting, creating and supporting expertise” consultant of the corporate’s prospects.
A few of the firm’s applications, per its variety assertion, embody cooking up and serving unconscious bias coaching at HQ in addition to offering these supplies for franchise homeowners.
Moreover, the DEI crew rolled out LGBTQ-inclusive advantages — a transfer that earned Papa Johns a spot on the Human Rights Marketing campaign’s Company Equality Index for 2021. ERGs for Asian-American and Pacific Islander expertise, in addition to expertise with disabilities, joined Papa John’s roster, alongside African-American, Latino-Hispanic, LGBTQ+, multi-generational and veteran ERGs.
“We now have an ideal alternative to construct upon the commitments we have now made lately, which have helped rework our enterprise and chart our path for future development,” Reyna advised HR Dive through e mail. The primary, he stated, is Papa Johns’ dedication to tradition and DEI — primarily, diversifying the workforce.
He added, “We should develop our dedication to our personal development, evolution and transformation. We’re continually hungry for higher. Actual change occurs after we belief the method and be taught from each our wins and errors.”
Previous to taking up this position, Reyna was Papa Johns’ VP of human sources and folks providers, and was a folks operations lead on the firm’s secondary headquarters.
In a press launch, President and CEO Rob Lynch stated Reyna was an distinctive tradition match and highlighted his expertise with and current relationships inside Papa Johns’ office tradition. “Elias couldn’t be a greater tradition match for Papa Johns as he’s a mannequin of our core values. His confirmed management expertise in our firm and his current relationships with our groups will make him an ideal asset on this position,” stated Lynch. “I’m proud that Elias would be the first Latino chief to affix our Govt Management Staff.”
Concerning his milestone as the primary Latino officer within the C-suite, Reyna stated, “Primarily based on my earlier expertise at Papa Johns, [I] have identified it to be a spot that valued variety in any respect ranges. I’m proud to construct upon the variety of current management.”
