Quiznos Names Harsha Agadi Executive Chairman Of Board

Harsha Agadi, former chief executive of Friendly's Ice Cream LLC, has been named executive chairman of Quiznos board of managers, the company said Tuesday.

Agadi is one of several new additions to Quiznos' board following the financial restructuring of the Denver-based sandwich chain earlier this year, which shifted ownership to Avenue Capital Group.

Other new Quiznos board members are:

• Claire Babrowski, who has served as chief restaurant operations officer at McDonald's

• Doug Benham, former president and chief executive of Arby's Restaurant Group Inc., who also serves on the boards of Sonic and O'Charley's

• Kip Knight, a former marketing executive at KFC International and Taco Bell, who also has held marketing positions at Procter & Gamble, eBay and PepsiCo.

Greg MacDonald, Quiznos chief executive, remains in place, Agadi said in a statement.

"We have confidence in Greg MacDonald and his team as they work to revitalize Quiznos and reinforce the brand's promise as a fresh, high-quality and great-tasting alternative to traditional fast-food offerings," he said. "Working together, we believe we have developed a financial plan that will allow the company to move toward achieving its long-term strategic goals.

Agadi stepped down as Friendly's chief executive earlier this month, although he remains on the board there. Friendly's emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January after closing 100 restaurants and eliminating much of its debt.

An industry veteran with more than 25 years experience, Agadi also has worked with Domino's Pizza, Pepsi, Kraft, General Foods, Little Caesars Enterprises and Church's Chicken.

"We are excited to be a part of the Quiznos team and look forward to working with management, the franchise owners and the employees in the weeks and months ahead," Agadi said. "The future of Quiznos is purely dependent on franchise profitability and same-store sales, and that is our fundamental focus."

Contact Lisa Jennings at lisa.jennings@penton.com.
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