Staffing

Riko's Pizza names industry vet Carl Bachmann president, COO

Photo: Riko's Pizza

January 22, 2025

Connecticut-based Riko's Pizza has named Carl Bachmann as its president and COO, according to a press release.

Bachmann brings more than 30 years of diverse experience building and leading winning brands throughout the restaurant and franchise industries.

In his role at Riko's, Bachmann will oversee the brand's enterprise-wide operations and growth strategy, with a core focus on accelerating scaling initiatives and leveraging powerful insights to further resonate with the company's dynamic customer base. Bachmann, who has previously served in the C-Suite of numerous national franchise chains (and spent more than a decade as a successful franchisee himself with Ruby Tuesdays), will also champion Riko's franchisee development and success programs. Additionally, Bachmann is responsible for helping to build Riko's into a national brand, while optimizing the company's operational standards and corporate culture. He is based at Riko's headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.

Bachmann most recently served as the CEO of BurgerFi International, where he oversaw BurgerFi and Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza. He also spent time as COO and later president and CEO of Smashbugrer.

"We are thrilled to welcome Carl as the new president and COO of Riko's Pizza. Carl brings not only extensive restaurant and franchise sector experience, but also direct expertise in the pizza space, to our growing business," Rico Imbrogno, founder and CEO of Riko's Pizza, said in the release. "Carl's unparalleled understanding of our industry, coupled with his proven success in responsibly growing brands, perfectly align with our goals for the Company. We believe his leadership will be instrumental in driving the next stage of our strategic growth. Moreover, his institutional knowledge of real estate selection, construction, operations, marketing and team building in the formation of hospitality companies will allow for even greater support of our franchisees, which is paramount. There's no doubt, this is a major hire for our organization — one that reflects the incredible growth and success of our brand — and there has never been a more exciting time to be part of the Riko's Pizza story!"

Bachmann said he is excited to join the Riko's team.

"This a unique and special concept, and over the last decade, Rico and his team have done an outstanding job of putting the fundamentals in place to grow a successful business without losing the authenticity and quality of its food, atmosphere and overall customer satisfaction," Bachmann said in the release. "In today's day and age, you don't see that very often. As the company now looks to take its next steps, furthering its growth trajectory by scaling up and down the East Coast and beyond, I'm thrilled to be a part of the leadership team and contributing wherever I can to accomplish the Riko's mission of redefining America's love affair with pizza."

Other Riko's c-suite changes include:

• Luigi Cardillo, the company's long-time head of operations, finance, and technology, has been named chief financial and technology officer.
• Robert Furnari, the company's former CFO, has transitioned to a new role as chief administrative oOfficer.
• Dawn Imbrogno, who has overseen the company's human resources and payroll since its inception, has been appointed the company's chief human resources officer.

Riko's Pizza was founded in 2011 and has four corporate-owned and eight franchise-owned locations.