"Dick led our brand transformation and now we're asking him to take on the task of embedding our story into our guest experience and corporate culture. He is an experienced and passionate brand leader who is ideally suited to harness the power of our brand messaging. Effective immediately he is responsible for global marketing and all internal and external communications." said Cheryl Bachelder, AFC Enterprises chief executive officer.

"I am thrilled to have this opportunity to leverage the incredible assets and talent in our organization to strengthen the Brand's messaging to enhance engagement with our key constituents," said Lynch. "In this role and with this new alignment, we will be able to connect with our franchisees, employees, guests and investors in even more compelling and relevant ways."

Lynch has served as chief marketing officer for Popeyes since 2008. Prior to joining the brand, he served as principal of GO, LLC, a marketing consulting firm specializing in restaurant and food retail, where he developed brand strategy and innovation plans for concepts including Burger King, Ruby Tuesday and Buffalo Wild Wings. Lynch has also held senior strategic positions with Campbell Mithun Advertising, Tracy-Locke Advertising in Dallas, Texas and Ketchum Communications in San Francisco, California.

 From the December 19, 2011, Prepared Foods' Daily News.