<SEC-DOCUMENT>0001157523-17-003276.txt : 20171221
<SEC-HEADER>0001157523-17-003276.hdr.sgml : 20171221
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20171221170036
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0001157523-17-003276
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	8-K
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		2
CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT:	20171218
ITEM INFORMATION:		Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers: Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers
ITEM INFORMATION:		Financial Statements and Exhibits
FILED AS OF DATE:		20171221
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20171221

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			PAPA JOHNS INTERNATIONAL INC
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000901491
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	RETAIL-EATING PLACES [5812]
		IRS NUMBER:				611203323
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			DE
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		8-K
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	000-21660
		FILM NUMBER:		171270073

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		2002 PAPA JOHNS BOULEVARD
		CITY:			LOUISVILLE
		STATE:			KY
		ZIP:			40299-2334
		BUSINESS PHONE:		5022617272

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		P O BOX 99900
		CITY:			LOUISVILLE
		STATE:			KY
		ZIP:			40269-9990
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>8-K
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>a51733655.htm
<DESCRIPTION>PAPA JOHN'S INTERNATIONAL, INC. 8-K
<TEXT>
<html>
  <head>
    <title></title>
<!--Copyright 2017 Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company.-->
<!--All rights reserved www.businesswire.com-->
  </head>
  <body style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt">
    <hr style="color: #000000; text-align: center; width: 100%; height: 4.0 pt">
    <hr style="color: #000000; text-align: center; width: 100%; height: 1.0 pt">


    <p style="text-align: center">
      <font style="font-size: 16pt"><b>UNITED STATES</b></font><br><font style="font-size: 16pt"><b>SECURITIES
      AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION</b></font><br><b>Washington, D.C. 20549</b>
    </p>
    <p style="text-align: center">
      &#160;<font style="font-size: 16pt"><b>FORM 8-K</b></font><br><br><b>Current
      Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)</b><br><b>Of the Securities
      Exchange Act of 1934</b>
    </p>
    <p style="white-space: nowrap; text-align: center">
      Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):&#160;&#160;&#160;<b>December
      18, 2017</b><br><br><font style="font-size: 16pt"><b>Papa John's
      International, Inc.</b></font><br><font style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Times New Roman">(Exact
      name of registrant as specified in its charter)</font><br>
    </p>
    <p style="text-align: center">
      <b>Delaware</b><br>(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)
    </p>
<div style="text-align:left">
    <table cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-bottom: 10.0px; width: 100%; font-family: Times New Roman">
      <tr>
        <td valign="top" style="padding-left: 0.0px; width: 15%; text-align: left">
          &#160;
        </td>
        <td valign="bottom" style="white-space: nowrap; padding-left: 0.0px; padding-right: 0.0px; width: 27%; text-align: center">
          <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px">
            <b>0-21660</b>
          </p>
        </td>
        <td valign="bottom" style="white-space: nowrap; padding-left: 0.0px; padding-right: 0.0px; width: 16%; text-align: center">
          <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px">
            &#160;
          </p>
        </td>
        <td valign="bottom" style="white-space: nowrap; padding-left: 0.0px; padding-right: 0.0px; width: 27%; text-align: center">
          <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px">
            <b>61-1203323</b>
          </p>
        </td>
        <td style="width: 15%">

        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td style="width: 15%">

        </td>
        <td valign="bottom" style="padding-left: 0.0px; width: 27%; text-align: center">
          <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px">
            (Commission File Number)
          </p>
        </td>
        <td valign="bottom" style="padding-left: 0.0px; width: 16%; text-align: center">
          <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px">
            &#160;
          </p>
        </td>
        <td valign="bottom" style="padding-left: 0.0px; width: 27%; text-align: center">
          <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px">
            (IRS Employer Identification No.)
          </p>
        </td>
        <td style="width: 15%">

        </td>
      </tr>
    </table>
    </div>
    <p style="text-align: center">
      <b>2002 Papa John's Boulevard</b><br><b>Louisville, Kentucky 40299-2367</b><br>(Address
      of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
    </p>
    <p style="text-align: center">
      <b>(502) 261-7272</b><br><font style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt">Registrant&#8217;s
      telephone number, including area code</font>
    </p>
    <p style="text-align: center">
      <b>N/A</b><br><font style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt">(Former
      Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)</font>
    </p>
    <p>
      <font style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt">Check the
      appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to
      simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any
      of the following provisions:</font>
    </p>
    <p>
      <font style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS; font-size: 12pt">&#8414;</font>
      <font style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt">Written
      communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR
      230.425)</font><br><font style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS; font-size: 12pt">&#8414;</font>
      <font style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt">Soliciting
      material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
      240.14a-12)</font><br><font style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS; font-size: 12pt">&#8414;</font>
      <font style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt">Pre-commencement
      communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
      240.14d-2(b))</font><br><font style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS; font-size: 12pt">&#8414;</font>
      <font style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt">Pre-commencement
      communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
      240.13e-4(c))</font>
    </p>
    <p>
      <font style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt">Indicate by
      check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as
      defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (&#167;230.405 of this
      chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
      (&#167;240.12b-2 of this chapter).</font>
    </p>
    <p>
      Emerging growth company <font style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS; font-size: 12pt">&#8414;</font>
    </p>
    <p>
      <font style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt">If an
      emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has
      elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any
      new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to
      Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.</font> <font style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS; font-size: 12pt">&#8414;</font>
    </p>
    <hr style="color: #000000; height: 1.0 pt; width: 100%; text-align: center">
    <hr style="color: #000000; height: 4.0 pt; width: 100%; text-align: center">


    <div style="margin-right: 0pt; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt; width: 100%">
      <div>
        <div style="text-align: left">

        </div>
      </div>
      <div style="page-break-after: always">
        <div style="text-align: center">

        </div>
        <div style="text-align: center">
          <hr style="color: black; height: 1.5pt">

        </div>
      </div>
      <div>
        <div style="text-align: right">

        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
    <p>
      <b>Item 5.02. &#160;Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of
      Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of
      Certain Officers.</b>
    </p>
    <p>
      At a meeting held on December 18, 2017, the Board of Directors of Papa
      John&#8217;s International, Inc. (the &quot;Company&quot;) appointed Steve Ritchie, 43,
      to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company,
      effective January 1, 2018. Mr. Ritchie is currently serving as President
      and Chief Operating Officer of the Company.&#160;&#160;Mr. Ritchie was appointed
      President and Chief Operating Officer in July 2015 after serving as
      Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since May 2014.&#160;&#160;Mr.
      Ritchie has served as a Senior Vice President since December 2010 and in
      various capacities of increasing responsibility over Global Operations &amp;
      Global Operations Support and Training since July 2010.&#160;&#160;Since 2006, he
      also has served as a franchise owner and operator of multiple units in
      the Company&#8217;s Midwest Division.
    </p>
    <p>
      John H. Schnatter, the Company&#8217;s Founder, who is currently serving as
      Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, will
      continue his service as Founder and Chairman of the Board.
    </p>
    <p>
      No changes to executive compensation for Mr. Ritchie have been
      determined at this time.&#160;&#160;Information about Mr. Ritchie&#8217;s compensation
      and certain related person transactions involving Mr. Ritchie which are
      required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K can
      be found in the Company&#8217;s definitive proxy statement for its 2017 annual
      meeting of stockholders filed with the Securities and Exchange
      Commission on March 23, 2017, which information is incorporated by
      reference herein.
    </p>
    <p>
      A copy of the press release issued by the Company on December 21, 2017,
      to announce the Chief Executive Officer succession is filed as Exhibit
      99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by
      reference.
    </p>
    <p>
      <b>Item 9.01. &#160;Financial Statements and Exhibits.</b>
    </p>
    <p>
      (d) &#160;Exhibits
    </p>
    <p>
      <a href="a51733655ex99_1.htm">Exhibit 99.1</a>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="a51733655ex99_1.htm">Papa
      John&#8217;s International, Inc. press release dated December 21, 2017.</a>
    </p>
    <div style="margin-right: 0pt; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt; width: 100%">
      <div>
        <div style="text-align: left">

        </div>
      </div>
      <div style="page-break-after: always">
        <div style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Times New Roman; text-align: center">
          2
        </div>
        <div style="text-align: center">
          <hr style="color: black; height: 1.5pt">

        </div>
      </div>
      <div>
        <div style="text-align: right">

        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
    <p style="text-align: left">
      <font style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt"><b>SIGNATURES</b></font>
    </p>
    <p>
      <font style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt">Pursuant to
      the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
      has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
      undersigned hereunto duly authorized.</font>
    </p>
<div style="text-align:left">
    <table cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-bottom: 10.0px; font-family: Times New Roman; width: 100%">
      <tr>
        <td style="width: 6%">

        </td>
        <td valign="top" style="padding-left: 0.0px; width: 44%; text-align: left">

        </td>
        <td valign="top" colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.0px; text-align: left">
          <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px">
            <b>PAPA JOHN'S INTERNATIONAL, INC.</b>
          </p>
        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td style="width: 6%">

        </td>
        <td style="width: 44%">

        </td>
        <td valign="top" style="padding-left: 0.0px; width: 30%; text-align: left">
          (Registrant)
        </td>
        <td style="width: 20%">

        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td style="width: 6%">

        </td>
        <td style="width: 44%">

        </td>
        <td style="width: 30%">

        </td>
        <td style="width: 20%">
          &#160;
        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td valign="top" style="padding-left: 0.0px; padding-bottom: 2.0px; width: 6%; text-align: left">
          Date:
        </td>
        <td valign="top" style="padding-left: 0.0px; padding-bottom: 2.0px; width: 44%; text-align: left">
          <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px">
            December 21, 2017
          </p>
        </td>
        <td valign="top" style="padding-left: 0.0px; border-bottom-style: solid; width: 30%; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1.0pt; text-align: left">
          <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px">
            /s/ Lance F. Tucker
          </p>
        </td>
        <td style="width: 20%">

        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td style="width: 6%">

        </td>
        <td style="width: 44%">

        </td>
        <td valign="top" style="padding-left: 0.0px; width: 30%; text-align: left">
          <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px">
            Lance F. Tucker
          </p>
        </td>
        <td style="width: 20%">

        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td style="width: 6%">

        </td>
        <td style="width: 44%">

        </td>
        <td valign="top" colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.0px; text-align: left">
          <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px">
            Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer,
          </p>
        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td style="width: 6%">

        </td>
        <td style="width: 44%">

        </td>
        <td valign="top" colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.0px; text-align: left">
          <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px">
            Chief Administrative Officer and Treasurer
          </p>
        </td>
      </tr>
    </table>
    </div>
    <p>

    </p>
    <p style="text-align: center">
      3
    </p>
  </body>
</html>
<!--<!DOCTYPE html
     PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
     "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">-->
</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99.1
<SEQUENCE>2
<FILENAME>a51733655ex99_1.htm
<DESCRIPTION>EXHIBIT 99.1
<TEXT>
<html>
  <head>
    <title></title>
<!--Copyright 2017 Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company.-->
<!--All rights reserved www.businesswire.com-->
  </head>
  <body style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 8pt">
    <p style="text-align: right">
      <b>Exhibit 99.1</b>
    </p>
    <p style="text-align: center">
      <font style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman"><b>Papa
      John&#8217;s Promotes Steve Ritchie to CEO</b></font>
    </p>
    <p style="text-align: center">
      <i><font style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman"><b>Ritchie
      goes from hourly team member to franchisee to CEO in 21 years</b></font></i>
    </p>
    <p>
      LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--December 21, 2017--Papa John's
      International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA), the world's third-largest pizza
      delivery company, today announced the promotion of Steve Ritchie to
      Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2018.
    </p>
    <p>
      Mr. Ritchie, 43, started with Papa John's in 1996 as a customer service
      representative at $6 per hour. In 2006, he became a Papa John's
      franchise owner and operator, then in 2010 began serving in increasing
      capacities of leadership in operations until being promoted to Chief
      Operating Officer in 2014. Ritchie was added to the succession plan for
      the company's top job in 2015 when he was named President.
    </p>
    <p>
      &#8220;I am so proud of Steve &#8211; he has excelled at every job he&#8217;s ever held at
      Papa John&#8217;s &#8211; from being an hourly customer service rep, to a delivery
      driver, store general manager, director of operations, franchisee and
      most recently President,&#8221; said Papa John&#8217;s founder, John Schnatter.
      &#8220;With 120,000 Papa John&#8217;s corporate and franchise employees, Steve will
      put the spotlight on our pizza and the most important ingredient &#8211; our
      team members. We couldn&#8217;t have a more proven leader to guide Papa John&#8217;s
      through its next stage of growth.&#8221;
    </p>
    <p>
      As Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ritchie will lead Papa John&#8217;s global
      development and facilitate the brand&#8217;s marketing, digital and customer
      experience evolution. Recent hires of Mike Nettles as Chief Information
      and Digital Officer, Brandon Rhoten as Chief Marketing Officer and the
      addition of a digital-first creative agency of record, Laundry Service,
      underpin the brand&#8217;s emphasis on digital marketing and technology. But
      the company&#8217;s primary focus will be on its team members.
    </p>
    <p>
      &quot;I am humbled to take on this role,&#8221; said Ritchie. &quot;By focusing on our
      team members, we will deliver the world class experiences our customers
      deserve. At Papa John&#8217;s, any opportunity is achievable if you dedicate
      yourself to putting your best foot forward every day. I&#8217;m certain our
      future company leaders are delivering pizzas in one of our 5,000 stores
      around the world right now.&#8221;
    </p>
    <p>
      At Papa John&#8217;s, 98% of restaurant managers are promoted from hourly
      positions &#8211; delivery drivers, customer service team members and shift
      managers &#8211; within the company.
    </p>
    <div style="margin-right: 0pt; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt; width: 100%">
      <div>
        <div style="text-align: left">

        </div>
      </div>
      <div style="page-break-after: always">
        <div style="text-align: center">

        </div>
        <div style="text-align: center">
          <hr style="color: black; height: 1.5pt">

        </div>
      </div>
      <div>
        <div style="text-align: right">

        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
    <p>
      In his duties as Chairman and founder, Schnatter will continue to
      champion the core principles that led to recognition as the industry
      leader in product quality and customer satisfaction. He will also pursue
      his personal passion for entrepreneurship, leadership development and
      education.
    </p>
    <p>
      <b>About Papa John&#8217;s</b>
    </p>
    <p>
      Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc.
      (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third-largest pizza delivery company. For
      16 of the past 18 years, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in
      customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the American
      Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). For more information about the
      company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at <u>www.papajohns.com</u>.
    </p>
    <p>
      <u><b>Forward-Looking Statements</b></u>
    </p>
    <p>
      Certain matters discussed in this press release constitute
      forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities
      laws. Generally, the use of words such as &#8220;expect,&#8221; &#8220;intend,&#8221;
      &#8220;estimate,&#8221; &#8220;believe,&#8221; &#8220;anticipate,&#8221; &#8220;will,&#8221; &#8220;forecast,&#8221; &#8220;plan,&#8221;
      &#8220;project,&#8221; or similar words identify forward-looking statements that we
      intend to be included within the safe harbor protections provided by the
      federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements may relate to
      projections or predictions concerning business performance, future
      strategy and prospects, the performance of the Papa John&#8217;s brand,
      customer experience, as well as business and financial performance,
      including revenue, earnings, cash flow, and other financial and
      operational measures. Such statements are not guarantees of future
      performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions,
      which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control.
      Therefore, actual outcomes and our results may differ materially from
      those matters expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements.
      The risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are involved in our
      forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the
      successful navigation of the brand&#8217;s marketing and digital evolution,
      the performance of our new senior leadership, aggressive changes in
      pricing or other marketing or promotional strategies by competitors,
      which may adversely affect sales and profitability; and new product and
      concept developments by food industry competitors; changes in consumer
      preferences or consumer buying habits, including changes in general
      economic conditions or other factors that may affect consumer confidence
      and discretionary spending; changes in our liquidity or changes in the
      debt markets in general, including adverse changes in interest rates,
      and our ability to meet debt service requirements; the adverse impact on
      the company or our results caused by product recalls, food quality or
      safety issues, incidences of foodborne illness, food contamination and
      other general public health concerns about our company-owned or
      franchised restaurants or others in the restaurant industry; failure to
      maintain our brand strength, quality reputation and consumer enthusiasm
      for our better ingredients marketing and advertising strategy; the
      ability of the company and its franchisees to meet planned growth
      targets and operate new and existing restaurants profitably, including
      difficulties finding qualified franchisees, store level employees or
      suitable sites; increases in food costs or sustained higher other
      operating costs. This could include increased employee compensation,
      benefits, insurance, tax rates, new regulatory requirements or
      increasing compliance costs; increases in insurance claims and related
      costs for programs funded by the company up to certain retention limits,
      including medical, owned and non-owned automobiles, workers&#8217;
      compensation, general liability and property; disruption of our supply
      chain or commissary operations which could be caused by our sole source
      of supply of cheese or limited source of suppliers for other key
      ingredients or more generally due to weather, natural disasters
      including drought, disease, or geopolitical or other disruptions beyond
      our control; increased risks associated with our international
      operations, including economic and political conditions, instability or
      uncertainty in our international markets, especially emerging markets,
      fluctuations in currency exchange rates, difficulty in meeting planned
      sales targets and new store growth; the impact of current or future
      claims and litigation, including labor and employment-related claims;
      current, proposed or future legislation that could impact our business;
      failure to effectively execute succession planning; disruption of
      critical business or information technology systems, or those of our
      suppliers, and risks associated with systems failures and data privacy
      and security breaches, including theft of confidential company, employee
      and customer information, including payment cards; and changes in GAAP,
      including new standards for accounting for share-based compensation that
      may result in changes to our net income. These and other risk factors
      are discussed in detail in &#8220;Part I. Item 1A. &#8211; Risk Factors&#8221; in our
      Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 25, 2016.
      We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking
      statements, whether as a result of future events, new information or
      otherwise, except as required by law.
    </p>
    <p style="text-align: center">

    </p>
    <p>
      CONTACT:<br>Papa John&#8217;s International, Inc.<br>Peter Collins,
      502-261-4233<br>Senior Director, Public Relations<br><u>peter_collins@papajohns.com</u>
    </p>
  </body>
</html>
</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
</SEC-DOCUMENT>
