John Schnatter

John Schnatter
Schnatter at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2013
Born
John Hampton Schnatter

November 22 or 23, 1961 (age 62)[1]
Jeffersonville, Indiana, U.S.
Other namesPapa John
Alma materBall State University[2]
Occupation(s)Founder, former CEO, and Chairman of Papa John's Pizza
Years active1984–2018
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Annette Cox
​
​
(m. 1987; sep. 2019)​
Children3

John Hampton "Papa John" Schnatter (born November 22 or 23, 1961)[1][3] is an American entrepreneur who founded the Papa John's pizza restaurant chain in 1984.[4] Schnatter started the business in the back of his father's tavern after selling his car and using the proceeds to purchase used restaurant equipment. As of 2017, his net worth was more than $1 billion.[5]

Schnatter stepped down as CEO on January 1, 2018, after controversy around his comments that the National Football League (NFL), who had a business affiliation with Papa John's, had not done enough to stop national anthem protests by NFL players, and that the protests had hurt his business.[6][7] Before he stepped down, his comments had resulted in the NFL cancelling its association with Papa John's.

After stepping down as CEO, Schnatter remained chairman of the board of directors until July 2018, when it was revealed that, during an internal sensitivity-training May 2018 conference call, he claimed without evidence that Colonel Sanders had used the word "nigger" without backlash.[8][9] Schnatter resigned when the comment became public, but has since maintained that the board conspired against him and unfairly forced him out of his position.[10][11]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference no apologies was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ency was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "John Schnatter Net Worth: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. July 11, 2018. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  4. ^ "The story of Papa John's". Papajohns.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  5. ^ "John Schnatter". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  6. ^ Griner, David (December 21, 2017). "Papa John's founder out as CEO weeks after NFL comments". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois: Tronc. Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  7. ^ Griner, David; Rittenhouse, Lindsay (December 22, 2017). "Papa John, One of the Last CEO Ad Stars, Will Remain the Face of the Company for Now". Adweek. New York City: Beringer Capital. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  8. ^ Lee, Yen Nee; Whitten, Sarah (July 11, 2018). "Papa John's founder John Schnatter resigns as chairman of company's board after apologizing for racial slur". CNBC. Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  9. ^ Kirsch, Noah. "Papa John's Founder Used N-Word On Conference Call". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  10. ^ "Papa John's founder now claims that he was set up — and vows 'the day of reckoning will come'". Salon. November 26, 2019. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  11. ^ "Papa John's founder John Schnatter says board conspired to oust him, vows 'day of reckoning will come'". Newsweek. November 26, 2019. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.