Sweetgreen Appoints Rossann Williams as Chief Operating Officer

Rhea-AI Summary

Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG) has appointed Rossann Williams as the Chief Operating Officer, effective February 5th. Williams brings over 30 years of experience in leading retail businesses and was previously the EVP and President of North America Retail at Starbucks. Her appointment is expected to drive sustainable growth and profitability for Sweetgreen, aligning with the company's mission of connecting communities to real food.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG) announced the appointment of Rossann Williams as the company’s Chief Operating Officer, effective February 5th. Williams joins Sweetgreen’s executive leadership team and will oversee Operations, Real Estate + Development and Supply Chain for the Company.

Williams is an accomplished global operations executive bringing more than 30 years of experience leading retail businesses. Williams is a respected and engaged leader focused on cultivating high-performance teams at every level of the business.

“Rossann is an industry veteran with a proven track record in driving sustainable growth of global, iconic brands and leading teams to generate profitability,” said Jonathan Neman, CEO and Co-Founder of Sweetgreen. “Rossann complements the existing skills and experience of our leadership team as we pursue our next chapter of growth. It’s clear that she shares our values, and I look forward to partnering with Rossann to further our mission of connecting more communities to real food.”

Prior to joining Sweetgreen, Williams spent over 18 years at Starbucks, where she rose to EVP and President of North America Retail. In this role, she oversaw a market of approximately 16,000 stores, where she significantly improved same-store sales, successfully opened thousands of new stores and helped navigate the company through the pandemic. At Starbucks, Williams also served in senior operations roles across North America, eventually rising to SVP, Global and Americas Operations Services. Previously, Williams held leadership roles for several well-known Fortune 500 brands, including Blockbuster and Toys “R” Us.

“I’ve long admired Sweetgreen’s leadership as a founder-led, mission-driven company driving the industry forward. I am deeply aligned with Sweetgreen’s values, people-centric approach and commitment to connect more people to delicious, real food. I’m thrilled to be joining the Sweetgreen team at a moment of significant growth and an incredible opportunity ahead,” said Rossann Williams.

About Sweetgreen: Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG) is on a mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food. Sweetgreen sources the best quality ingredients from farmers and suppliers they trust to cook food from scratch that is both delicious and nourishing. They plant roots in each community by building a transparent supply chain, investing in local farmers and growers, and enhancing the total experience with innovative technology. Since opening its first 560-square-foot location in 2007, Sweetgreen has scaled to over 220 locations across the United States, and their vision is to lead the next generation of restaurants and lifestyle brands built on quality, community and innovation.

To learn more about Sweetgreen, its menu, and its loyalty program, visit www.Sweetgreen.com. Follow @Sweetgreen on Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements may relate to, but are not limited to, statements regarding our growth and opportunity ahead. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “toward,” “will,” or “would,” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved, if at all.

Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management as of that time with respect to future events. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond our control, that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include our ability to compete effectively, the impact of pandemics or disease outbreaks, uncertainties regarding changes in economic conditions and the customer behavior trends they drive, including long-term customer behavior trends following the COVID-19 pandemic, our ability to open new restaurants, our ability to effectively identify and secure appropriate sites for new restaurants, our ability to expand into new markets and the risks such expansion presents, the profitability of new restaurants we may open, and the impact of any such openings on sales at our existing restaurants, our ability to preserve the value of our brand, food safety and foodborne illness concerns, the effect on our business of increases in labor costs, labor shortages, and difficulties in hiring, training, rewarding, and retaining a qualified workforce, our ability to achieve profitability in the future, our ability to identify, complete, and integrate acquisitions, the effect on our business of governmental regulation and changes in employment laws, the effect on our business of expenses and potential management distraction associated with litigation, potential privacy and cybersecurity incidents, the effect on our business of restrictions and costs imposed by privacy, data protection, and data security laws, regulations, and industry standards, and our ability to enforce our rights in our intellectual property. Additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations is included in our SEC reports, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 25, 2022 and subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Except as required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise.

Additional information regarding these and other factors that could affect the Company’s results is included in the Company’s SEC filings, which may be obtained by visiting the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Information contained on, or that is referenced or can be accessed through, our website does not constitute part of this document and inclusions of any website addresses herein are inactive textual references only.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240202683054/en/

Sweetgreen Contact, Media:

Jenny Seltzer

press@sweetgreen.com

Sweetgreen Contact, Investor Relations:

Rebecca Nounou

ir@sweetgreen.com

Source: Sweetgreen

FAQ

Who is the new Chief Operating Officer of Sweetgreen?

Rossann Williams has been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of Sweetgreen.

When will Rossann Williams assume her new role?

Rossann Williams will assume her role as the Chief Operating Officer on February 5th.

What is the ticker symbol for Sweetgreen?

The ticker symbol for Sweetgreen is SG.

Where did Rossann Williams previously work?

Rossann Williams previously worked at Starbucks, where she was the EVP and President of North America Retail.

What is the mission of Sweetgreen?

Sweetgreen's mission is to connect more communities to real food.

What is the experience of Rossann Williams?

Rossann Williams brings over 30 years of experience in leading retail businesses.

What are the responsibilities of Rossann Williams at Sweetgreen?

Rossann Williams will oversee Operations, Real Estate + Development, and Supply Chain for the Company at Sweetgreen.