Steve Ritchie progressed from being an entry level employee to the company’s CEO. To think the guy had just started as a representative for customer service in the mid 90’s. Steve Ritchie had a vast interest in the pizza industry, purchasing a pizzeria of his own for the price of $16,000 while he was still in school. Steve came from modest backgrounds and hard work. He was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky and today he still lives there. Though working at a variety of restaurant jobs when he was a 15, 16 year old teenager. His job was to cook burgers at Burger King and that’s when he really fell in love with the restaurant industry and it’s fast-paced enviorment and excited to get things done efficiently, getting them done properly. Source: Wikipedia
Steve entered the corporate leadership committee at Papa John’s in 2010, eventually being appointed Papa John’s Chief Operating Officer in 2014, President the nect year and finally CEO in 2017, where he successfully guided the company’s transition. Ritchie preferred not to attend college, but instead study the business at what he calls “Papa John University.” He knows aspect of the business.
Steve has stated in a an interview with The Medium that 2018 was the most challenging year in his career and for the company. The business had many problems both in terms of customer sentiment and some of the things that had happened, but Steve always felt it was the company’s most valuable year in its history. What he was most proud of is his people ‘s strength, and how they all tied together. The organization has been faced with a major problem within the overall business and its understanding. But when people come together and you have a strong culture, and people believe in each other things will prevail. Ultimately, Steve and his team got the company back on track to compete with other top franchises. Connect: https://www.facebook.com/papajohnsus/posts/an-open-letter-from-steve-ritchie-papa-johns-ceo-httpspjpizzaletter/10156059624187639/