LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Karlin Linhardt was named global chief marketing officer at Papa John’s International Inc. Linhardt most recently served as senior vice president of marketing for North America for Subway Restaurants.

“I am excited to join Papa John’s and begin working with the talented leadership and marketing teams to build upon the work underway,” Linhardt said. “I’m a fan of Papa John’s high-quality product and I look forward to helping tell that quality story to customers in new ways.”

Linhardt is a veteran of marketing in the quick-service restaurant category. He’s held executive roles at leading consumer brands and top professional services firms, including Anheuser-Busch, McDonald’s and Accenture where he was a senior consultant of business and digital strategies before joining Subway.

He spent 10 years at McDonald’s, “…where he led initiatives that were critical to the brand’s turnaround, including kids and family (Happy Meals), value (Dollar Menu) and premium burger products (Big Mac, Quarter Pounder),” according to Papa John’s. He also led partnerships with leading brands such as Disney, Walmart and Coca-Cola, and served on the board of directors for Perkins and Marie Callender’s restaurants for seven years.

“Karlin is a seasoned marketing executive who I am confident will contribute to our ‘Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.’ brand value proposition,” said Papa John’s President and CEO Steve Ritchie. “The addition of Karlin as global chief marketing officer is one of the many significant steps we’ve taken to improve our brand differentiation, which includes enhancing our quality positioning in the category. Karlin’s combined restaurant, franchise and consumer brand experience make him an excellent addition to the Papa John’s leadership team.”