Communicator spotlight: Papa Johns chief corporate affairs officer Madeline Chadwick
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Papa Johns chief corporate affairs officer Madeline Chadwick joined the pizza chain in 2018, as founder and CEO John Schnatter was being ousted following a string of scandals and inappropriate behavior.
- Since then, Chadwick and her team have worked to revamp the brand and rebuild the pizza delivery chain's corporate reputation.
Why it matters: The crisis caused by Schnatter put the importance of reputation and the value of clear communication into focus.
What she's saying: "I think everyone realized, wow, when something like this happens, it's not just about what the media is saying. It's what are we telling our employees? What are we telling our franchisees? How are we engaging with them? How are we engaging with our communities and other people outside of the company who can actually support you during times like this? And so out of that we saw the evolution of this role."
- Zoom in: Concerns over corporate culture were front and center, which led to a more strategic focus on internal communications and the creation of a corporate foundation, Chadwick said.
How she got here: Chadwick spent 15 years in the PR agency space before taking in-house communications roles at Hewlett-Packard and eBay.
- Before joining Papa Johns, she led communications for Rock Ventures, which supported the companies and investments of Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- She was elevated to chief corporate affairs officer for the pizza franchise in 2023.
How it's structured: Chadwick is based in Atlanta and oversees a team of 12 responsible for internal and external communications, corporate social responsibility and environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives.
- State of play: This summer, Papa Johns tapped former Wendy's CEO Todd Penegor to lead the restaurant chain.
- "There's a lot of working across the organization to present stakeholder engagement strategies to Todd to make sure he's talking to and listening to the right people, as he gets to know the company and [sets] his strategy moving forward," Chadwick says.
Every CEO should know communications has evolved from "taking orders to having a seat at the decision-making table," she says.
Trend spot: The efficiency AI will bring to comms.
- "I think about all the routine communications that we need to do, and that's not always the most interesting work for the team. So eventually, we will be able to use generative AI in a really efficient way to make some of the rote things that we do less time-consuming, and we can focus our time on more of the strategic work."
Best advice: Know the business.
- "I really emphasize understanding the business priorities, what makes the business run, and how it makes money," she said. "That's what puts, I think, communications at that table, because you can have the smart conversations and also truly align your work to things that drive results for the business."
