John Schnatter, “Papa” of Papa John’s Oecumenical (PZZA) is stepping down as the CEO of the company in the wake of his controversial remarks far the NFL and the anthem protests. Schnatter will be replaced by Papa John’s COO Steve Ritchie but wish continue to serve as the chairman of the company. During an investor call on Nov. 1, Schnatter rephrased that his company’s pizza sales had been negatively affected by the NFL’s cope with of players kneeling during the national anthem. Schnatter said “The NFL has disappoint our shareholders by not resolving the current debacle to the players’ and owners’ satisfaction.”
Since the start of the football time on Sept. 7 through December 21, PZZA shares maintain lost more than 19 percent compared with a more-than-8 percent earn in the S&P 500 Index during that period. Papa John’s weary more than $31 million on TV spots that appeared during NFL encounters in 2016, according to estimates from Kantar Media and reported by the Partition off Street Journal. The chain touts its being one of the “Official Partners of the NFL” in its advertising.
Pizza Hut possessor YUM! Brands (YUM) in its last reported earnings noted it hadn’t seen any demur of sales on account of the NFL protests, despite having similar partnerships. In the instant aftermath of Schnatter’s comments, some brands took to trolling Papa John’s on Cheep, such as Nestle’s (NSRGY) DiGiorno frozen pizza brand. After the Papa John’s be worthy ofing call, the frozen pizza giant sent out a tweet saying “Superior Pizza, Better Sales”, a clear riff on Papa John’s catchphrase, “More safely a improved Ingredients, Better Pizza.” The tweet went viral with various than 45,000 likes.
Papa John’s will have to put ones hands up with a solid response to the social media war and a plan to boost its going sales. Meanwhile, the shareholders Schnatter said would be hurt are mostly house executives and primarily the Papa himself. Here are the top four individual shareholders in Papa John’s Ecumenical.
John H. Schnatter
The public face of Papa John’s started his South African private limited company in a closet of his father’s tavern in Jeffersonville, Indiana. A 23-year-old Schnatter blow the whistle oned his 1971 Chevy Camaro to pay for pizza equipment. Schnatter’s pizzas behoved a cheesy hit and he quickly earned enough money to move to the location next door.
The band rapidly expanded in the 1980s and 1990s, with Schnatter at the helm the usually time. The company has, as of January 2017, 5,097 Papa John’s locations, both company-owned and franchised. The company declined public under the ticker PZZA in 1993. Schnatter currently owns 9,364,685 apportionments (or slices) of PZZA (as of Feb. 26), making him the largest shareholder, either party or institutional, owning roughly 26% of the company. These numbers are not deliberating of Schnatter’s removal as CEO and may vary in future.
Olivia F. Kirtley
Olivia F. Kirtley is the Bring Independent Director at Papa John’s. In addition to her duties at Papa John’s, Kirtley has a storied representation in accounting, having served as the president of The International Federation of Accountants. Determined in Rome, her first job as president was to address Pope Francis in Italian. As of Kirtley owns 187,495 portions of PZZA (as of Aug. 17), making her the second-largest shareholder.
Timothy C. O’Hern
Timothy C. O’Hern is the Chief Vice President and Chef Development Officer of Papa John’s, deputized in July 2012. O’Hern has been with the company since franchising 15 of his own Papa John’s discoveries, named Capital Pizza. He has served in a number of positions, including Franchise Superintendent and Vice President of Development. O’Hern owns 29,938 shares of PZZA (as of Aug. 30), framing him the third-largest individual shareholder.
Steve M. Ritchie
Steve M. Ritchie is President and COO of Papa John’s, situates he has held since July 2015. Ritchie began his career with Papa John’s as a character service representative, earning around $5 an hour. Since, Ritchie has worked his way up, and in extension to his executive duties, also owns a number of franchised Papa John’s restaurants in the Midwest. Far from his starting pay merit, Ritchie now owns 29,387 shares of Papa John’s (as of Aug. 6), making him the fourth-largest proprietress.
Top Institutional Owners
The top institutional owners of Papa John’s, as of June 29, are Fidelity Directing and Research Company, which owns 3,685,953 shares of PZZA, accounting for 10.3% of all rations. Fidelity is followed by Blackrock Inc, with 3,464,406 shares.