Wendy's Elevates Matt Spessard to CIO, Aims for Tech-Driven Growth

The Wendy's Company announced on Monday, Feb. 26, that it has appointed a new chief information officer. The home of Baconator selected Matt Spessard as the successor of Kevin Vasconi in the CIO role.

The fast-food chain said Spessard, its former global chief technology officer, will now report directly to the company's CEO. According to Nation's Restaurant News, the newly-appointed information chief will also be serving as part of Wendy's senior leadership team.

New Responsibilities for the New Role

Before his appointment, Spessard has served as Wendy's senior vice president and global CTO since August 2022. On the other hand, Vasconi is leaving his CIO role after four years.

As Vasconi's successor, Spessard will have new tasks on hand. He will assume responsibility for all of the brand's technology efforts worldwide. These responsibilities will include data management and analytics, restaurant technology, data management and analytics, information security, enterprise technology, and software architecture.

Spessard's Background

Matt Spessard joined the company in May 2020, and his first job was as vice president for restaurant technology. His role was expanded in September of the same year, and he became VP for digital and restaurant technology.

Before joining The Wendy's Company, he spent six years with Inspire Brands, which owns Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Mister Donuts, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin' Donuts, Sonic Drive-In, and Jimmy John's. He held various leadership roles for the company's Sonic Drive-In chain, such as VP and head of technology.

"Driving the growth of the digital business and harnessing technology in restaurants to improve the customer and crew experience are important pieces of our plan to accelerate sales and profitable growth across the global System," Kirk Tanner, The Wendy's Company president and chief executive officer, said in a press release. "Matt's extensive experience in overseeing global technology initiatives at Wendy's positions him as the ideal leader to build growth on our already successful foundation."

Photo by: Wendy's Press Release