Mod Pizza Tops Executive Team With New Hires, Promotions

Seattle-based Mod Pizza is stacking its executive team in a series of new hires and promotions aimed at enhancing franchising efforts, operations and culinary innovation.

The over 520-unit pizza chain promoted Becky Mulligan to the newly created position of chief restaurant officer and hired Stephen Blum as its first chief development officer.

Mulligan joined the brand a year ago as senior vice president of operations, leading operations for the over 440 company-owned stores. Now, Mulligan will continue to lead all company stores while taking on leadership for the franchise business.

Blum joins the concept with over two decades of store development experience, including positions with Panera Bread, Panda Restaurant Group and Au Bon Pain. He most recently served as senior vice president of real estate and facilities at Hertz. In his new role with Mod Pizza, he will lead store development activities, including real estate, store design, construction, facilities and portfolio management.

In addition, Mod Pizza made three additional executive-level hires and promoted one company veteran:

• Cynthia Richardson was hired as vice president of franchising. She will lead the team that supports all franchise, nontraditional and international operations. She joins the brand from 7-Eleven, where she worked for 25 years.
• Scott Uehlein joins Mod Pizza as vice president of culinary excellence and innovation. He will oversee the culinary team, including menu development and innovation. Uehlein has over three decades of industry experience, most recently serving as vice president of product innovation and development at Sonic.
• Ben Coarde was tapped as regional vice president of operations, overseeing the eastern region. He joins the brand from Starbucks, where he spent over 14 years, most recently as regional director.
• James Holguin was elevated to regional vice president of operations, overseeing the western half of the U.S. Holguin has been with the brand for seven years.