Management

Bob has been President and Chief Executive Officer at Potbelly Corporation since July 2020. He has over 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry, most recently serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of The Wendy’s Company, where he ran operations for over 6,000 company and franchise restaurants located in the U.S. and Canada. He has a strong record of business transformation throughout his career, where he has leveraged brand strengths to revitalize top-line sales and profit growth through marketing, system-wide service standardization, and quality initiatives. In addition to Wendy’s, Bob has served in leadership roles with other restaurant brands, including Charley’s Philly Steaks, Checker’s Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., and Domino’s Pizza, Inc. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Letourneau University.

Favorite Potbelly menu item: Italian on white with peppers, mustard, lettuce and pickles

Mr. Cirulis became Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Strategy Officer in April of 2020. He brought over 20 years of experience in omnichannel businesses, including retail, restaurants, digital, CPG, hospitality, and entertainment. Most recently, Mr. Cirulis served as Senior Vice President, Strategic Projects at Panera Bread. Prior to his role at Panera Bread, Mr. Cirulis was the Global Vice President, Corporate Strategy at McDonald’s, Senior Director of Strategy, Business Development and Insights, Gap Brand at Gap, Inc., and was Associate Partner at Prophet, Inc. Mr. Cirulis is also a Founding Board Member of The Nora Project and Vice President, Board Member of Winnetka Public Schools District 36.

Mr. Cirulis completed his undergraduate work at Northwestern University, and earned an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Favorite Potbelly menu item: A Wreck

Adam has been Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Potbelly Corporation since August 2020. He has more than 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry and has served in a variety of senior leadership roles with Checkers and Rally’s Restaurants, including Chief Administrative Officer & EVP from 2016-2019 and Chief Restaurant Operations & Supply Chain Officer for the chain’s nearly 900 locations from 2010-2016. He has a long track record of Company and Franchise management and operations, including supply chain and quality assurance, operations and technology systems, training and restaurant development. Adam began his restaurant career with McDonald’s Corporation, where he worked his way up from entry level to management. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from the University of Florida and has earned his Masters in Business Administration from the University of South Florida.

Favorite Potbelly menu item: A Wreck

Adiya Dixon is Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary of Potbelly Corporation and joined the executive team at Potbelly in November 2020. In years prior, Adiya held several leadership roles at The Wendy’s Company. As Director, International Counsel at Wendy’s she managed all aspects of the legal functions for international franchise business, and as Director, Corporate Counsel she supported domestic refranchising and other strategic initiatives. Adiya began her legal career in New York at Debevoise and Plimpton, LLP where her practice focused on securities and mergers and acquisitions. She holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Columbia University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University. As a successful entrepreneur, Adiya founded a legal consulting company and is also a patented inventor and founder of Yubi Beauty, LLC, an e-commerce company which has won awards for innovation.

Favorite Potbelly menu item: Apple Walnut Salad

Jeff has been Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Potbelly Corporation since September 2019. Jeff joined Potbelly from Levy Restaurants, where he served as the Senior Vice President of Information Technology. Prior to Levy, Jeff was the Vice President of Technology for The Options Clearing Corporation.

Jeff holds a bachelor's degree in Accounting from Hampton University and an MBA degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Gies College of Business.

Favorite Potbelly menu item: A Wreck with mustard

David became Chief Marketing Officer in August 2021. Prior to joining Potbelly, David served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at The Food Hall Co. in Dallas, Texas. He has spent more than 20 years as a marketing executive leading some of the world’s best-selling brands, delivering top- and bottom-line growth. He brings classic brand marketing experience in Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) from Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, as well as restaurant experience from Pizza Hut and YUM! Brands, Inc. David holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Business Management and Marketing from Virginia Tech.

Favorite Potbelly menu item: Italian with hot peppers

Lynette became Senior Vice President of Franchising in June 2023. She has more than 25 years of experience in the franchising space and most recently owned and operated her consulting practice, McKee Services LLC, which she began in 2011 as an advisory services firm specializing in franchising and development. She previously served as Executive Director of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. Prior to that role, Lynette was Chief Development Officer at Checkers Drive-In Restaurants and oversaw franchising at global restaurant brands Dunkin’ Brands and Burger King. Additionally, she held franchise leadership positions at the American casual dining company Metromedia Restaurant Group, as well as several hospitality companies. Lynette earned a degree in Education from Vanderbilt University.

Favorite Potbelly menu item: Classic Smoked Ham Sandwich

Patrick has been Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer since June 2023. He previously served as VP, Head of Human Resources at manufacturing and supply company Oil-Dri Corporation of America. Prior to that role, he spent more than a decade, non-consecutively, in various human resources positions, including leadership roles, at PepsiCo, most recently as Senior Director of Human Resources. He also has experience in the restaurant industry, having held a leadership position overseeing human resources and talent acquisition at Pizza Hut. Patrick earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Human Resources and Industrial Relations, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Favorite Potbelly menu item: Mediterranean Sandwich