Church’s Chicken President and Chief Executive Officer, Jim Hyatt announced today the appointment of Tony Moralejo as its Chief Development Officer responsible for domestic and international expansion for the globally recognized quick-service chicken chain. His responsibilities also include franchising, reimaging, construction and real estate management. Tony reports directly to Jim Hyatt and is a member of the brand’s executive team.
Moralejo joins Church’s Chicken after more than fifteen years in various high profile senior positions within the Burger King Corporation, including providing leadership in development, franchising, real estate, finance and marketing and was also the brand’s International General Counsel. Tony was the Vice President of Development for the Latin America and Caribbean regions where he cultivated an aggressive pipeline that led the company to an unprecedented growth into new countries. Most recently, Moralejo took on the special assignment of leading a multi-functional team negotiating and implementing new joint venture companies and master franchise models to accelerate growth and international presence in key countries.
Earlier in Tony’s career he was the Senior Director of Partner and Franchised Management in the Direct to Consumer Group at Nike, Inc., and was a member of the brand’s Global Leadership Retail Team. After receiving his law degree, Moralejo established a private practice where he specialized in real estate, commercial development and real estate financing.
“Tony is a valuable addition to Church’s management team and has a vast amount of experience and an impressive track record in restaurant development and building relationships with franchisees,” said Jim Hyatt. “He will be instrumental in spearheading and accelerating the brand’s growth plans both domestically and internationally.”
Tony Moralejo graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in business administration and received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Founded in San Antonio, TX in 1952, Church’s Chicken is a highly recognized brand name in the Quick Service Restaurant sector and is one of the largest quick service chicken concepts in the world. Church’s serves up a rich tradition of gracious Southern hospitality and freshly prepared, high quality, authentic Southern-style fare, to help people provide affordable, complete meals for their families. Church’s menu includes flavorful chicken both Original and Spicy, Tender Strips and chicken sandwiches with classic sides and hand-made from scratch honey butter biscuits. The Church’s system consists of more than 1700 locations in 25 countries and system-wide sales of more than $1 billion. For more information on Church’s Chicken, visit www.churchs.com.
