Drew Travis has joined Chicken Salad Chick as chief financial officer, bringing more than 18 years of finance experience — including over a decade in the restaurant industry — to the nation's only fast-casual concept built entirely around chicken salad.
Travis most recently served as Senior Vice President of Finance at GoTo Foods (formerly Focus Brands), the multi-brand franchising company behind Cinnabon and Moe's Southwest Grill. During nearly six years there, he also held VP of Finance and Senior Director of Finance roles. Earlier in his career, he held senior financial leadership positions at Bloomin' Brands, GrubHub, Discover Financial Services, and Levi Strauss & Co. He holds an undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and officially assumed the CFO role in August 2026.
Why It Matters
For franchisors, a CFO hire of this caliber typically signals an inflection point — the moment a growing brand needs institutional-grade financial infrastructure to match its unit-count ambitions. Chicken Salad Chick is clearly at that stage. With more than 340 restaurants across 25 states, the brand is targeting multiple new state entries in 2026, including West Virginia, New York, and Michigan. It most recently debuted in Minnesota and Pennsylvania this summer. Travis's background in FP&A, P&L management, data analytics, and strategic planning positions him to scale the financial systems that underpin franchise owner profitability — a critical variable in any franchise system's long-term health.
Leadership Build-Out
Travis's appointment is the third C-suite addition in recent months. Jill Thomas joined as Chief Marketing Officer and Brian Lindley came on as Chief Development Officer in February, rounding out a leadership team being assembled specifically to manage the brand's next growth chapter. CEO and President Scott Deviney framed the hire as directly tied to market expansion, citing Travis's track record guiding high-growth restaurant brands. Travis echoed that focus, pointing to Chicken Salad Chick's unit economics and franchise model as the financial foundation he intends to strengthen.
The rapid executive build-out mirrors a broader trend across the fast-casual franchise expansion segment, where brands that hit critical mass in their home regions are investing heavily in corporate infrastructure before pushing into unfamiliar markets. Operators considering franchising opportunities in emerging Chicken Salad Chick markets will want to watch how the brand's financial support systems evolve under Travis — particularly as it enters more competitive, densely populated states like New York. For a deeper look at how franchise finance leadership shapes unit-level outcomes, see our restaurant franchise industry coverage.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
