Founder resumes presidency at Papa John's

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Papa John's founder John Schnatter will resume the title of president at the Louisville-based pizza chain while he continues as CEO, the company announced Thursday.

Schnatter also announced he is promoting Senior Vice President Steve Ritchie, formerly in charge of operations in North and South America, to chief operating officer of the 4,400-store chain, a news release said. Ritchie joined Papa John's in 1996.

"Steve is an outstanding operator with a track record of success, and a tremendous asset to our entire system," Schnatter said.

Schnatter, who founded the company in 1985, replaces Tony Thompson as president. Thompson had been both president (since August 2013) and COO (since July 2012) before he announced Tuesday that he will become president and CEO of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., based in Winston-Salem, N.C.

It's the third time Schnatter has taken back the president's role after relinquishing the title. Former Papa John's presidents and COOs include Nigel Travis (2005 to 2008) and Jude Thompson (2009 to 2010).

Papa John's chief financial officer, Lance Tucker, said in an interview Thursday that the current leadership structure is here to stay.

"The plan is to move forward as is," Tucker said. "In this case, we had a succession plan that we went on and implemented."