Church's® and Texas Chicken® Brands Announce Several Developmental New Hires

ATLANTA, Dec. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Church's Chicken®, one of the largest fried chicken chains in the world, is furthering its commitment to igniting growth and developing winning teams with its latest announcements of organizational changes to its development team.

Russ Sumrall has taken on the position of Director of International Business Development for Church's® and Texas Chicken® brands with nearly 40 years of experience in various leadership roles in the restaurant industry and expertise in international franchising and restaurant development. He is now responsible for the international growth of both brands. Prior to joining Church's®, Sumrall served as the Chief Operations and Development Officer for the Kudu Company for Food and Catering based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Vice President of International Supply Chain Management, QA and Product Commercialization for Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.

Mitch Langston took on the role of Director of International Marketing at Church's® and Texas Chicken® in August of this year. Since then, he has supported the brand's international team. Langston has extensive international and domestic expertise aiding franchisees and company operations for brands in both quick service and casual dining for brands such as Popeyes, Applebee's and Chili's, among others. From positioning and calendar development to overseeing menu development, marketing messages and media strategies across a wide variety of countries, Langston is a seasoned international marketer with a track record of building brands.

"Both Russ and Mitch possess extensive experience within the industry which will help steer new and existing franchisees in the right direction for growth and success," said Tony Moralejo, Executive Vice President of International Business for Church's Chicken® and Texas Chicken®.

Tanya Mareno joins the Church's® development team as Director of Domestic New Business and brings over 20 years of franchising experience and 10 years of restaurant development experience. Prior to her position at Church's®, Mareno managed market development plans and communications for all recruiting activities, email marketing campaigns, and more for Popeyes Louisiana Chicken. In her new role, Mareno will drive the sourcing of new development agreements with new and existing franchise operators domestically and develop franchise relationships that will drive increased market share and unit growth for the brand. Mareno will report to Vice President of Domestic Franchise Development, David Knies, who was hired as Church's Vice President of Franchise Development in July of this year.

"At Church's we are always striving to create experiences that are rewarding for all involved," said Knies. "Tanya's business development experience in the restaurant industry is just what we need to grow the brand domestically."

About Church's Chicken®
Founded in San Antonio, TX in 1952 by George W. Church, Church's Chicken® is one of the largest quick service restaurant chicken chains in the world. Church's® specializes in Original and Spicy Chicken freshly prepared throughout the day in small batches that are hand-battered and double-breaded, Tender Strips®, honey-butter biscuits made from scratch and freshly baked, and classic, home-style sides all for a great value. Church's® (along with its sister brand Texas Chicken® outside the Americas) has more than 1,600 locations in 27 countries and international territories and system-wide sales of more than $1 billion. For more information about Church's Chicken® or Texas Chicken® franchising opportunities, visit http://www.churchs.com/franchise.php. For more information about Church's Chicken visit www.churchs.com. Follow Church's® on Facebook at www.facebook.com/churchschicken and Twitter at www.twitter.com/churchschicken.

Contact: Serena Hardware
866.571.3449
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SOURCE Church's Chicken