‘Everything is open to us’: Why Krystal’s CMO is returning for seconds at the fast-food brand

So you left Krystal as vp of marketing, went to Tropical Smoothie to head up menu strategy and innovation, only to return to Krystal. Talk about that.

I grew up with Krystal. It was a big part of my childhood. My father would take us to Krystal on special occasions, back when Krystals were only 25 cents and we knew that we could eat as many Krystals as he had quarters in his pocket.

The second piece that attracted me is the [new] leadership of the brand. As I was thinking about making the change, I wanted to come some place where A) I felt like I’d be given the freedom to make a difference, which I feel confident in; and B) that my partners in that were going to run operations, facilities, [and] everything else at such a quality way that when we invited people in, they were going to be happy with the experience they had. [Brand President Tom Stager] has put together a stellar team for that.

I did go over [to Tropical Smoothie] and I was able to put in processes that weren’t there before that have continued to show dividends. But when Tom called and said he and [Golden Child Holdings founder Jonathan Childs] had taken over Krystal and were bringing a new and expanded vision that had such a focus on quality, I just knew it was time to come home.

You have more than 20 years of experience in this industry. What’s been your biggest challenge?

I remember my first assignment in new products marketing at Denny’s was to put together a cross-functional process for launch. I did this long presentation and took [the chef] all the way through it. He just looked at me and said, ‘I love the way you think. I love your process, but a chef does not follow a process. You will have to start over.’ I remember going, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t know what to do with that.’ But you work with it.

Whenever I’ve been stumped like that, it’s because I haven’t fully understood what my partners need in terms of information or process or motivation. I tell my team whenever they bring me anything, what’s the story you’re trying to tell. And I think that’s a big part of what marketing’s about. What’s the story you’re trying to tell with this project? And if you can’t tell a story that makes everyone involved go, ‘hey, I want to be part of that,’ then you haven’t done what you needed to in order to fully be an advocate for that project.

As we come out of the pandemic, what’s next for CMOs?

For brands, I think the sky is the limit. We’re seeing so much innovation in our partners — especially in technology –to get the message out and the product out to our guests. We’re seeing a big focus on things like delivery. Everyone’s talking about delivery because it’s crucial. 

If I think qualitatively, before the pandemic, I was not an Uber Eats or DoorDash user. And now a dasher shows up at my door probably three times a week. The expectations that guests have about how they can get their product, when they can get it and what they can get are rapidly evolving. It’s up to us as marketers to meet those new needs in as quality of a way as possible, and that’s exciting. We’re all learning.