Operations

10 questions: Donatos Pizza CEO Kevin Kiing

Donatos CEO Kevin King reflects on his decades-long career in the restaurant industry, from his early days at Domino’s to leadership roles at Donatos, Papa Murphy’s and Smoothie King.

Photo: Shutterstock

November 2, 2026 by Valerie Gritton — Editor, Pizza Marketplace

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At Pizza Marketplace, we spend a lot of time covering what restaurant brands are doing. But sometimes the more interesting story is why their leaders are doing it and what they've learned along the way. That's the idea behind 10 Questions, a series that goes beyond the headlines to get inside the minds of the people shaping the pizza industry. In this series, each leader answers the same set of questions, giving readers a chance to see how different leaders approach the challenges, opportunities and decisions shaping their brands — and the pizza industry as a whole.

Kevin King has spent more than three decades building restaurant brands, developing franchise systems and helping concepts grow across markets. His career began at Domino's, where he worked in operations and international leadership before joining Donatos Pizza in 1990. During his first 13 years with the Columbus-based pizza brand, he helped establish its franchising program as vice president of development. He later held senior leadership roles at Papa Murphy's, where he helped drive the chain's expansion, and Smoothie King, before returning to Donatos as president in 2022. He was named CEO and president in 2024.

Now leading the brand into its next chapter, King is focused on bringing together the right people, systems and strategies to position Donatos as the "World's Best Pizza Brand." In this edition of 10 Questions, he reflects on the lessons that have shaped his leadership, what makes the pizza industry both uniquely challenging and rewarding, and why he believes investing in the guest experience — rather than relying on discounting — is critical to the industry's future.

Q: What first drew you to the pizza business and what has kept you in it?

King:I was drawn to the industry as my first job was in pizza and for the most part never left. What I love is what pizza represents. To me, pizza is about fun, family and sharing. What is not to love about that?

Q: What inspires you on a daily basis?

King:Learning is what inspires me every day. I believe learning is a lifelong journey. I love to learn and put it in place to help other people grow. As I get older, it does become more about sharing and teaching what I have learned. And yet, I still learn every day.

Q: What has been the biggest lesson you've learned throughout your career in the pizza industry?

King: The biggest lesson is about leaders and leadership. Throughout my career I have had the privilege of having some great leaders who have inspired me and helped me grow. I can't thank them enough. Also, I have had leaders who weren't great and I learned who I didn't want to be and what I didn't want to do. In life, we learn from both great and poor leaders. Take advantage of difficult situations to learn what is important for you to be and what not to be.

Q:What's one decision you've made in your career that didn't go as planned, but ultimately taught you something valuable?

King: In general I look forward not backward. Of course I have had setbacks and failures and I have learned from everyone of them. What I know is if we aren't open to failures then we will never reach our full potential.

Q:What do you think makes a great pizza brand? Is it the food, the people, the culture, the customer experience — or something else?

King:To me a great pizza brand is a blend of great food and great experience. I don't think you are great without both. The experience is a combination of great people serving great food.

Q:What's the one thing about the pizza industry that you think people outside the industry don't understand?

King: Pizza is the most intense peak oriented business there is. If you run a lunch restaurant you have seven peaks a week. In the pizza business, it's all about Friday night. If you win Friday you win the week. We have to perform at full capacity 52 times a year in a very short period of time. That is what makes a great pizza restaurant.

Q:When you look five years ahead, what excites you most about the future of pizza?

King:The most exciting thing is our occasion. Pizza is about fun, family and sharing. I believe guests will always love fun, family and sharing. That is why pizza has been such a huge part of the restaurant industry for so long. People love pizza. When is the last time you mentioned pizza for a meal and people didn't smile?

Q:What's something you still want to accomplish that you haven't done yet?

King:I have been so fortunate to have so many great opportunities that others have given me. What I look forward to most is giving others similar experiences and opportunities in the future. This is a great industry, and pizza has done so much for me in my life. I just hope I can share it with others. Specifically for Donatos, I want to help and push Donatos to be the 'World's Best Pizza Brand'. I know we can do it. We have so many of the critical components and now we just have to pull them together and execute.

Q:What's the one thing you would never compromise on in your business?

King:You can never compromise your principles and values. It is why we exist.

Q:What's next for you and Donatos — and what should pizza operators be watching?

King: We are focused on improving the guest experience. This is huge for us. What I want to see is an experience system as great as our kitchen system that makes consistently great pizza. When we deliver that I think we will be unstoppable.

*Bonus question:If you could change one thing about the way the pizza industry operates, what would it be?

King:We could discount less and invest more in the guest experience. Discounting hurts all of our brands. Pizza is great food and we shouldn't have to discount.