Leadership | Papa John's scandals spark first-ever CPO appointment

Multi-national pizza delivery company Papa John’s has confirmed the appointment of their first ever Chief People Officer.

Martin Boakye will take up the reins. He has over 20 years of experience in the field of human resources and will be tasked with improving the standard of the company’s talent management strategy after reports surfaced about the questionable behaviours of company founder John Schnatter.

Read more from us

Staff offered £450 'banter' training after Whatsapp scandal

In July 2018, past CEO and Chairman of the Board Schnatter resigned from his post after a slew of front-page headlines informed the public about his use of racial slurs on corporate phone calls and controversial comments about the company’s supposed unprofitable links to the NFL.

Much speculation surrounded Schnatter’s departure, with many news sources claiming that the founder, who created the brand over three decades ago, was forcibly persuaded into departing after company stocks fell by over 10.5%. Projections for a campaign to repair the damage caused by Schnatter’s comments was expected to cost over $50million.