Papa Johns, launched in Indiana, loses its CEO

Cheryl V. Jackson

On March 21, Papa Johns announced via an SEC filing that its president and CEO, Robert Lynch, has resigned, effective March 20, to take a CEO role with another corporation.

“This was an incredibly difficult decision for me, as I see all of the upside potential that exists for this great company,” Lynch said in a release. “That being said, I feel good about this decision knowing that Papa Johns is very well positioned for both the short and long term. I am certain that Papa Johns’ incredible leaders, franchisees and team members will continue to do what only Papa Johns can: deliver better pizza to the world.”

On Wednesday, the Louisville-areafounded pizza chain announced it will close 43 of its 450 UK shops, including 16 in London, by mid-May.

It’s been a bumpy few years for the brand, currently based in the Louisville and Atlanta metro areas.

When was Papa Johns founded?

John Schnatter launched the pizza company as Papa John’s from his family’s Jeffersonville, Indiana, bar in 1984. Ten years later, it has grown to 500 Papa John’s stores nationwide. In 1999, the company moved into its Louisville corporate headquarters.

Why did founder step down as CEO?

In January 2018, Schnatter stepped down as the CEO of the company following criticism of NFL leadership for its handling of player protests during the national anthem.

Why did Papa Johns’ founder step down as chairman?

In July 2018, Schnatter resigned from his position as chairman of Papa Johns after admitting he used the N-word on a public relations call. He also resigned from the University of Louisville’s board of trustees.

Schools and other organizations distanced themselves from Papa Johns’ founder

John Schnatter has donated millions of dollars, with his name affixed to everything from college buildings to football stadiums. But in 2018, many organizations cut ties with him.

Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore

●

returned a $400,000 donation from Schnatter, and moved to pull his name from a historic gym. The donation was part of an agreement to donate $800,000 over time to help renovate the Nachand Fieldhouse, a decades-old gym that in 2017 was renamed to the John H. Schnatter – Nachand Fieldhouse.

The University of Louisville removed

● Papa Johns as the title sponsor for Cardinal Stadium.

Purdue University stripped Schnatter’s

● name from the economic research center at its Krannert School of Management, to which he’d donated $8 million and offered to return the money.

Ball State, in early August 2018, had

● an economics program in Schnatter’s name and stood by the alumnus, issuing statement saying that Schnatter used the slur “not in a derogatory manner seeking to demean any individuals or groups; rather it was used as an example of improper conduct.”

Schnatter graduated from Ball State with a major in business administration in 1983, and was given an honorary doctorate of laws when he spoke at Ball State’s commencement in 2015. In 2016, the Charles Koch Foundation and Schnatter donated $3.25 million to Ball State for the creation of the John H. Schnatter Institute for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise.

But later in August 2018, Ball State trustees changed course on Papa John’s controversy, and voted to remove Schnatter’s name from both the institute and a distinguished professorship of free enterprise and return the money donated by the Schnatter Family Foundation.

Is Papa Johns leaving Kentucky?

In September 2020, the pizza giant announced it would be moving the company’s global headquarters to Atlanta. At the time, the company said about 550 of its 750 corporate jobs would remain in Kentucky.

In February 2023, citing a change in workforce needs, the company announced plans to sell its Louisville corporate headquarters office at 2002 Papa Johns Blvd.

The company said employees would still physically work in Louisville.

In October, Papa Johns announced it would retain the office.

Papa Johns changed its name

In 2021, Papa Johns rebranded and removed the apostrophe from the company name, another step in moving away from company founder Schnatter.

Shaq is leaving the Papa Johns Board of Directors

In February 2023, Max Wetzel, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Papa Johns, based in Atlanta, announced his intention to resign from his position; and Board of Directors member Olivia Kirtley, based in Louisville, announced her retirement from the board after nearly 20 years.

In February 2024, the company announced that Shaquille O’Neal, a brand ambassador of the company and an investor of nine Papa Johns locations in Atlanta, would not seek reelection to be a part of the Papa Johns’ board of directors. He’d been a part of the leadership of the company for five years. His term on the board ends May 2. The decision came as O’Neal was involved in many other businesses, according to the release.

Seth Slabaugh, The Star Press; Justin L. Mack, IndyStar; Courier Journal reporters Olivia Evans, Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez and Matt Glowicki; and the Lafayette Journal & Courier contributed to this report.

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar. com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com: @cherylvjackson.