Guthrie’s hires Chicken Salad Chick executive to lead growth

Guthrie’s, the regional chicken-finger quick-service chain with about 74 locations, appointed Tom Carr as its new president and CEO on January 14, 2026. The move signals a deliberate push toward brand expansion and a renewed emphasis on franchising and marketing as the chain prepares for its next growth phase.

Carr joins Guthrie’s from Chicken Salad Chick, where he served as chief marketing officer and helped scale that brand substantially. Guthrie’s co-owner and outgoing CEO highlighted Carr’s experience scaling brands and said the hire is intended to guide the company’s next phase of brand growth and franchising. The leadership change transfers day-to-day authority to an executive steeped in brand-building and consumer marketing at the mid-market quick-service level.

For restaurant employees, managers, and franchise partners, the leadership change is likely to translate into operational and organizational shifts. Chains that prioritize expansion and tighter brand positioning typically update training programs, roll out refreshed marketing initiatives, and standardize unit-level operations to protect unit economics and customer experience. Those changes can mean new onboarding and retraining for front-of-house and back-of-house teams, revised performance metrics, and shifts in scheduling or labor expectations tied to promotional campaigns.

Franchise partners should expect a sharpened corporate focus on franchise development and support infrastructure. That can entail revisions to the franchise disclosure document, changes in territory strategies, and expanded corporate resources for site selection, operations consulting, and local marketing co-op programs. It may also lead to a more aggressive store-opening cadence, which can create demand for regional managers, field support hires, and development teams.

Guthrie’s leadership has emphasized keeping the chain’s legacy product and service identity intact even as it pursues growth. Maintaining the core chicken-finger recipe, service rhythm, and neighborhood positioning will be a balancing act as corporate marketing seeks to broaden reach. How Guthrie’s navigates menu innovation, pricing, and technology investments such as digital ordering and loyalty will be central to whether growth preserves or dilutes the existing guest experience.

Mid-sized chains undergoing CEO transitions often see a period of strategic retooling followed by operational realignment. For Guthrie’s workers, that typically means a phase of increased communication from corporate, pilot programs at select units, and potential changes in staffing priorities to support expansion. Franchisees should expect formal briefings and updated playbooks as new brand and development plans take shape.

What comes next for Guthrie’s will be visible in the speed and scope of franchise development, marketing activations, and any updates to training and store support. Employees and partners should monitor corporate communications for timelines and opportunities to engage with the company’s growth plans.