Pizza industry veteran Brandon Solano was named CEO of RAVE Restaurant Group, a publicly traded company that owns and operates the Pie Five and Pizza Inn restaurant chains.

Brandon Solano Solano succeeds Scott Crane, whose tenure with RAVE Restaurant Group ended in July 2019.

Solano most recently served as chief marketing and digital officer of fast-casual concept Pei Wei Asian Kitchen. His restaurant industry career began in 2008 with Domino’s Pizza. During his time with the Michigan-based pizza chain, Solano served as vice president of innovation and later as vice president of development, where he designed Domino’s Pizza Theater concept. His resume also includes a stop a quick-service burger chain Wendy’s.

“Brandon has been a difference maker for multiple brands in the restaurant space,” said Mark Schwarz, chairman of RAVE Restaurant Group Inc. “He has a history of driving profitable traffic and leading brands to cultural relevance. He has communicated provocatively, even telling consumers Domino’s pizza wasn’t great and could be better. He once famously dug through the trash at Panda Express to expose their ingredient statements on Twitter. Importantly, he has brought his franchisees along with him to shared success. Brandon has depth and breadth of experience, including leading both pizza and fast-casual brands across many functions from operations and technology to marketing and development. We are thrilled to have Brandon lead our company.”