Blaze Pizza hires new CFO as it tries to stabilize growth

Blaze Pizza hired Lucas Bravo as chief financial officer as the chain tries to steady a business that has been losing stores and leaning harder on operational fixes. Bravo takes over finance, accounting, treasury, planning and analysis, and he will also help with supply chain and franchise administration, a set of duties that points directly at where Blaze sees pressure.

Bravo brings nearly 28 years of finance, planning, treasury and operational leadership across restaurant and consumer brands. Before joining Blaze, he served as senior vice president of finance and corporate treasurer at ICAT Logistics. For a pizza chain, that kind of hire usually means more than a title change. It suggests the company wants tighter control over costs, cleaner capital allocation and more discipline in how it supports franchisees.

The move comes as Blaze works through a broader leadership reset. John Owen became chief executive on Jan. 5, 2026, after the company said he would bring more than 40 years of restaurant, franchising and operational leadership to the brand. Blaze has said Owen was charged with improving the chain’s menu and operations, and QSR described his approach as operator-first, with profitability, evolution and hospitality in mind.

That shift is happening against a shrinking footprint. Blaze lost 31 U.S. stores in 2024, according to its most recent franchise disclosure document. The same filing showed the chain had 313 U.S. units at the start of 2022 and 265 at the start of 2025. Restaurant Dive separately reported that Blaze had 296 units at the end of 2023, underscoring how much ground the brand has given up even while it tries to rebuild demand.

Blaze has been trying to push back with menu and loyalty changes. In April 2025, it remade its rewards program and said the new version would add personalized perks, in-app exclusives, secret menus and possible merchandise, while also making it easier for guests to link cards to rewards accounts instead of scanning receipts or remembering passwords. The chain also introduced five new signature pizzas in a 2024 menu overhaul, tested them in California and moved to one price for both signature and build-your-own pizzas. In January 2026, it launched a Protein-zza aimed at consumers looking for high-protein or GLP-1-friendly options.

Blaze also partnered with Reality Based Group on March 11, 2026, to improve upselling performance and customer experience across franchise locations. For Pizza Hut workers and managers, that kind of finance-and-ops reset is a familiar signal: when brands start talking more about margins, store economics and franchise administration, the pressure usually shows up later in staffing, training, menu complexity and service standards. In a labor-heavy, franchise-driven business, the CFO’s office often ends up shaping what the line feels on a Friday night.