Name: Jamie Griffin
New title: Chief people officer, Shake Shack
Previous title: Founder and principal partner, Consult to Grow
Shake Shack plans to reach 1,500 restaurants in the future, so a chief people officer focused on talent acquisition will help ensure it has enough managers and hourly employees to run these locations. The company currently has nearly 400 restaurants in the U.S., meaning it will triple its unit count to reach its goal. The chain is opening a second support center in Atlanta to further aid in its nationwide expansion.
Griffin brings about two decades of experience in hospitality and human resources to his position at Shake Shack, the company said in a press release emailed to Restaurant Dive. In the new position, he will advise executive leadership and the board of directors and help guide the vision and execution of the chain’s “people-first approach.”
He will be responsible for overseeing various areas, including “the team member experience, talent acquisition, organizational design, leadership development, total rewards, [human resources information system] operations, compliance and team member relations,” the company said. He also will lead the HR team at the support center to further support enterprise growth and build organizational capabilities.
Griffin has helped restaurants “scale, evolve and build strong, people-centric cultures,” Shake Shack said. He founded his own consultancy in 2016 where he worked for more than nine years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He spent over 13 years at Raising Cane’s, rising through the ranks to senior vice president of business administration.
