Hardee’s has a new president and an unusually direct assignment: rebuild franchisee alignment and restart growth.
CKE Restaurants named Alisa Gmelich president of Hardee’s effective October 7. She reports to CKE CEO Joe Guith and will lead a system of more than 1,400 restaurants in 31 states. The company said her mandate is to reignite growth, improve the guest experience and strengthen its relationship with franchisees.
Gmelich’s first public priority was just as specific. She said she intends to build a strong partnership with franchisees and connect that partnership to immediate growth. That makes the appointment more than a change at the top: CKE is signaling that operators will be central to whatever Hardee’s does next.
The structure around her is also changing. CKE now has dedicated presidents for both of its domestic brands. Iwona Alter, who joined in 2025 after serving as chief operating officer of Habit Burger & Grill, leads Carl’s Jr. Gmelich leads Hardee’s, while Ewan Davenport remains president of international.
That separation matters. Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s share a parent company and much of a menu vocabulary, but their footprints, customer bases and operating needs are not identical. Brand-specific presidents give each system a clearer operating owner and give franchisees a shorter line to the executive accountable for their results.
Gmelich brings experience from both restaurants and retail. She most recently served as chief marketing officer of Sprouts Farmers Market. Before that, she was chief brand officer and brand president of Auntie Anne’s, and earlier held senior roles at IHOP, McDonald’s and Burger King. CKE is positioning that mix of marketing, operations and franchise experience as a fit for a brand that needs traffic as well as operator confidence.
The urgency is visible in the footprint. Nation’s Restaurant News reported that Hardee’s ended 2025 with fewer than 1,500 locations, nearly 400 fewer than in 2017, and had closed more restaurants than it opened in each of the previous eight years. Those figures do not prove what caused the contraction, but they explain why CKE’s announcement repeatedly returns to growth and franchisee economics.
CKE also formalized a broader executive bench. Ben Halliwell is chief commercial officer, combining brand strategy, technology, analytics and operations. Danton Nolan is chief financial officer; Mauricio Sirgo is chief supply chain officer; Nick Melka is vice president of strategy; and Cheryl Bowie has joined as interim chief human resources officer. The company said that team will support commercialization, cost discipline, franchise service and long-range transformation across both brands.
For restaurant operators, the practical test will be whether dedicated leadership changes field execution. A new campaign can create attention quickly. Rebuilding openings, sales and franchisee confidence requires consistent restaurant-level gains in staffing, speed, food quality and unit economics.
The appointment therefore sets a useful scorecard. Watch whether Hardee’s stabilizes its unit base, whether franchisees resume development and whether CKE translates its broader ‘Burger Revolution’ into restaurant-level improvements that operators can see in their P&Ls. Gmelich’s title is new; the measurable outcome is whether the system becomes easier to operate and worth investing in again.
