Staffing

Blaze adds CMO, chief restaurant officer

Photo: File/provided.

October 12, 2020

Blaze Pizza has named Vince Szwajkowski, a former movie theater and hotel executive as its CMO, and Rick Gestring, a former operating systems and restaurant experience vice president at Dunkin' Brands, is taking over as chief restaurant officer, a news release said.

"I am absolutely thrilled to be adding world class marketing and operations leaders to the Blaze executive team," Blaze Pizza CEO Mandy Shaw, said in the release. "Both

Vince and Rick have extensive experience in building culturally relevant brands and evolving the guest journey. I'm confident that they will be pivotal in taking us into the next stages of growth."

As CMO, Szwajkowski, who worked for ArcLight Cinemas and Hilton, is responsible for the development, planning and execution of all digital, marketing and brand strategy. He is also charged with deepening the company's lifestyle brand image and strategic innovation.

At ArcLight Cinemas, Szwajkowski built and launched the new ArcLight brand platform, and at Hilton, he concepted and led the global hospitality brand, Motto by Hilton, creating an entirely new category of lifestyle hotels for Next Generation travelers.

"Blaze has built its reputation on disrupting the pizza space through its unique customer-centric concept and devoted following," Szwajkowski said in the release.
"The brand is driven by stellar leadership and engaged franchisees and I am thrilled to join Mandy and the unbelievably talented team she has assembled as we grow and accelerate Blaze as an innovative lifestyle brand."

Gestring will oversee restaurant operations and innovation, across both corporate and franchise, to drive extensive and sustainable growth. At Dunkin' Brands he led all aspects of operation systems and guest experience for more than 8,500 locations. He was also one of the engineers behind the revamped guest experience and brand relaunch for Arby's at 1,200 company-owned, and over 2,200 franchise locations.

"Culture is so important to me, and at Blaze, culture and purpose is at the core of everything we do," Gestring said in the release. "I'm inspired by the people behind the pizza, and the journey we are embarking on together with our guests and franchisees."
Blaze Pizza is based in Pasadena, California.