Dave's Hot Chicken names chief marketing officer to propel brand growth
Fast-casual brand strengthens its leadership bench to advance culture-driven marketing.
Fast-casual chicken franchise Dave's Hot Chicken announces Brandon Rhoten as the company's new chief marketing officer.
Rhoten joins Dave's Hot Chicken with a proven track record of elevating bold, high-growth concepts. He was introduced to the brand during his most recent role with the advertising platform GroundTruth, where he served as chief marketing officer and helped restaurants and other brands drive traffic through targeted media. Prior to that, he served as chief marketing officer of Potbelly, where he helped reverse declining traffic by refining the brand's positioning and modernizing its digital engagement. Earlier in his career, he spent six years leading creative and social strategy at Wendy's. His marketing career began on the agency side before he joined Wendy's to build the brand's digital marketing capabilities.
"From the moment I started working with the Dave's team, I knew the brand was something special," said Rhoten. "Dave's Hot Chicken has the exact DNA where I've historically done my best work. It's a bold, social-led brand with great food, strong operations, and a willingness to take risks. My goal is to help bring that spirit onto bigger stages while staying true to what made people fall in love with Dave's in the first place."
Across his career, Rhoten has championed bold creative strategies, digital innovation and culture-shaping storytelling. At Dave's Hot Chicken, he will oversee all aspects of brand marketing, creative strategy, digital and social engagement, media, and long-term brand growth. His early priorities include identifying core traffic drivers, deepening the brand's social and digital foundation, and building test-and-learn programs to accelerate reach and relevance.
"We have built a world-class team of franchisees and support staff, and Brandon is an incredible addition to our team," said Bill Phelps, CEO of Dave's Hot Chicken. "His experience building culturally relevant brands and driving real results will be invaluable as Dave's continues its rapid growth across the United States and internationally."
Dave's Hot Chicken was founded by Arman Oganesyan and classically trained chef Dave Kopushyan, along with brothers Tommy and Gary Rubenyan in early 2017.
Source: Dave's Hot Chicken
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