Cava has a new marketing chief.
The fast-casual chain on Wednesday said John Ludeke is taking the role of chief marketing officer, effective Oct. 12.
Ludeke is a 17-year marketer, but he does not come from the restaurant world. Most recently, he was chief brand officer at Dr. Squatch, a men’s personal care brand, which he helped grow into a $500 million company that was acquired by Unilever.
Before that, he spent more than a decade at Monster Energy, and was based in Shanghai and Seoul for more than six years. He has also worked with other global brands, including Adidas, Ford, Activision, Tencent, Sony, and DJI.
“John is a proven builder of culturally relevant consumer brands and a thoughtful, passionate leader who knows how to turn brand belief into business momentum,” said Brett Schulman, Cava’s co-founder and CEO, in a statement. “One of the things that stands out about John is his ability to quickly understand the essence of a consumer brand and translate it into a meaningful marketing strategy that is relevant, distinctive, and true to the brand.”
Ludeke replaces Andy Rebhun, who recently made the jump to Panera Bread, where he is CMO.
The move comes as the 476-unit Cava pushes to reach 1,000 units by 2030.
“We have a unique, category-defining opportunity at Cava to bring the flavors, hospitality and generosity of the Mediterranean to even more people,” said Schulman, in a statement. “John brings the experience to help us do that, along with a leadership style grounded in curiosity, agility, positivity, and collective ambition. Those qualities reflect how we lead at Cava, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to the Cava table.”
