QSR June 2022

YOUNG LEADERS

and debut LTOs, including Coun try Fried Krystal and Shrimp Po’ Boys. She is also leading ini tiatives to launch an optimized menu with new architecture and designs, as well as four ghost brands with one in-pilot testing.

company’s social and PR strategy and rebuilt its “hometown partner ship” strategy as Caribou turned focus to local impact. “I believe small moments that ‘fill your cup’ throughout the day, matter,” Alexson says. “One of these moments for me always includes—quite literally—a great cup of coffee in the morning, while other moments are shaped day to-day by authentic connection and experience with others. I feel lucky to have spent the past four years at Caribou Coffee, a brand

Before assuming her present title, Arp served as off-prem ises marketing manager for two years. That stretch coincided with the pandemic, which put Arp in the heart of the industry’s most visible transformation: she was charged with advancing strate gic growth outside Your Pie’s four walls. Pre-COVID, 15 percent of the company’s business came off-premises. It ballooned to more than 80 percent at peak. In Arp’s tenure with Your Pie, the chain scaled from fewer than 15 stores to more than 70. “With the acceleration of growth in the off-premises space over the past two years, the mindfulness to the owners and our guests has been more important than ever,” Arp says. “I look forward to keeping that mindset throughout the rest of my career.” BRYCE Iapicca DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS PURO GUSTO AGE: 24 of projections. And then, Omicron took hold. Figures plummeted and downtown D.C. business crawled. That’s when Bryce Iapicca got to work. He adjusted hours, shifted channels, reduced staff, and grappled with a 10 percent decline in sales (versus antici pated figures). Further, he was now directing a team that hadn’t had enough time to embed itself in company culture. Despite all of it, three months later, sales were back on the mend and Puro Gusto maintained the original team it opened with. “There are many different F&B concepts in the U.S.—coffee shops, bars, quick service, fast food, fine dining, and so on,” Iapicca says. “To me, the most exciting part of Puro Gusto is bringing a new type of concept to Washington, D.C. that will eventually be franchised Puro Gusto is a rela tively new entrant to the restaurant land scape, having opened December 15, 2021, in Washington, D.C. A week later, daily sales were nearly half

AMANDA Rather MANAGER PIZZA HUT MARKETING AGE: 31

Amanda Rather began her career with Yum!’s pizza icon as a social media copy writer. Today, she oversees TV advertising, a role that began in

HAROLD ISAAC Walters CEO SHOOTZ HAWAIIAN AGE: 33

Shootz Hawaiian sprung up in Southern California’s Rodeo 39 Public Market in September 2020, right in the thick of COVID. But Harold Isaac Walters was used to betting on himself. He dropped out of high school in 2006 and grabbed odd-jobs where he could. A lit tle over a decade later, he started a digital agency and ecommerce brand. Although it succeeded, Isaac Walters wanted to expand

early 2021 just as Pizza Hut started to unveil a new creative campaign, “Spirit of the Hut”—a continuation of the chain’s nostalgic, yet modern approach in recent years. Rather produced five TV campaigns to strengthen brand linkage and rele vance within her first 12 months. “Learning to navigate the ins-and outs of TV production during the pandemic has been challenging,” she says. “But it’s been a reward ing, unique experience to be part of a brand that has undergone its own transformation at a time when the whole world is changing.” Going back further, Rather’s ascension took her from copy writer to social strategy, where she led the aforementioned pro cess of reshaping Pizza Hut’s image. Rather implemented robust KPI reporting to improve con tent on multiple platforms and channels, and continued to listen to feedback, which earned her a reputation as a leader with a cus tomer-first mindset. Perception of taste, high quality, relevance, and value have all climbed 3 per centage points among existing customers and those now aware of the classic chain compared to 2018. KAYLEEN Alexson DIRECTOR OF BRAND EXPERIENCE CARIBOU COFFEE AGE: 33 Since joining the coffee chain in 2018, Kayleen Alexson’s purpose led strategy and creative mentality have been central to Caribou’s out reach, especially as it begins to expand from a regional to national concept. Her team re-focused the

whose purpose is to create day making experiences that spark a chain reaction of good.” Nearly every function under Alexson was reimagined dur ing COVID. Directives amplified around teams, guests, and store level needs. They prioritized giving back and, in Minneapolis during the George Floyd mur der, where Caribou is based, she played a lead role in rallying con versations. “Are we saying that coffee can change the world?” she says. “No, we’re not. But the people connect ing around that coffee just might.” LEAH Arp SENIOR OFF-PREMISES MANAGER YOUR PIE AGE: 26 Leah Arp has been with Your Pie since she was 18.

and was presented with an oppor tunity to launch a restaurant with childhood friends Nolan Perez, Christian Solomona, and Michael Dancel. “I took the leap, and even tually my knowledge of tech and internet marketing became increasingly valuable as we went through the pandemic, and the dig ital needs for the restaurant quickly became a necessity,” he says. During the pandemic, Shootz Hawaiian “absolutely killed it,” Isaac Walters adds. They’re now opening a second location in Ontario Ranch, California. Along with his partners, Isaac Walters also debuted a Latin-Asian fusion quick-serve called Buenos Migos and is looking to bring a cookie shop, Sweet G’s, to market this year.

She’s held roles from

training man ager (helping open 63 loca

tions across 17 states) to franchise support manager—a job that gave her oversight of 22 restaurants while also being asked to coordi nate training and marketing for all new store openings.

SHOOTZ HAWAIIAN, PIZZA HUT MARKETING, CARIBOU COFFEE, YOUR PIE, PURO GUSTO

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JUNE 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com