BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Chester’s Chicken announced food industry veteran Bill Rice is joining the quick-service restaurant’s executive team as executive vice president, head of sales, operations and supply chain. Rice’s appointment follows his short retirement preceded by nearly four decades of experience in foodservice supply chain management.

Under Rice’s leadership, Chester’s plans to accelerate growth and evolution. He will ensure team members have the resources needed to achieve Chester’s aggressive growth goals while continuing to support existing franchise partners.

Rice began his new position in January and has been working against several first and second quarter projects, including a supply chain optimization study, adding new and profitable menu items, equipping the team with new sales tools and bringing on additional resources to the field team.

“We continue to prioritize investing in the Chester’s leadership team, and Bill is the perfect complement,” said Alexis Lobodocky, general manager of Chester’s Chicken. “He brings extensive expertise in supply chain, an area of opportunity that will drive gains for the Chester’s brand and Chester’s operators.”

Most recently prior to his retirement, Rice served as senior vice president at Krispy Krunchy Foods LLC, where he championed a redesign of the company’s supply chain network. He previously worked at International Traders Inc./MBM Corp., Performance Food Group and Kraft Foodservice Corp. in leadership positions.

“The Chester’s culture and core values like ‘winning as a team’ and ‘fried chicken is fun’ are what drew me in and convinced me to exit retirement,” said Rice. “It’s refreshing to be working alongside some of the best in the industry who are energized about our future and focused on initiatives that deliver the most value to our operators.”