Martinson and Gessner also join Ovation’s leadership team.

George Wooten was named senior vice president of operations for Ovation Brands, a multi-concept operator with 340 restaurants in 35 states.

In his new role, Wooten becomes responsible for seeding, training and completing the rollout of the company’s new hospitality program to all 331 buffet restaurants. He will appoint and train a dedicated hospitality manager in each restaurant, whose job is to connect with guests on the dining room floor and to set a positive example for the rest of the staff by training them to do the same. Ovation Brands’ new hospitality initiative focuses on enhancing the customer experience by “building a culture of hospitality through real food for real people.”

Wooten started his career as an hourly team member at Wendy’s in 1978 and worked his way up the operations chain into a managing position.

In related news, Ovation Brands named Jeffrey Martinson as senior vice president of strategic planning, and Michelle Gessner as senior vice president of administration and general counsel.