Smashburger co-founder Tom Ryan will assume the role of chief brand officer for the fast-casual burger concept. Ryan and partner Rick Schaden co-founded Smashburger in 2007. Ryan has since served as chief concept officer, overseeing product development and quality standards.

A longtime industry veteran, Ryan has held branding, marketing and product development leadership positions at Procter & Gamble, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Quiznos.

The announcement follows the recent appointment of Mike Nolan as Smashburger CEO and a recapitalization of Smashburger completed in the fourth quarter of 2015. In October 2015 Smashburger announced a 40 percent strategic partnership with Jollibee Foods Corporation (PSE:JFC), a large Asian foodservice company with more than 3,000 stores worldwide.