Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit
Jay Jhun, senior director, loyalty and digital, at Church’s Texas Rooster, shares perception on his profession, achievements and business tendencies forward of his look on the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit 2026.
Picture: Willie Lawless/Networld Media Group
March 5, 2026 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com
At the moment we’re shining a highlight on Jay Jhun, senior director, loyalty and digital, at Church’s Texas Rooster.
Jhun is a panelist for the “Grinding Your Franchise into Omnichannel Overdrive,” session on the upcoming Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit, which takes place March 16-18, 2026, in San Diego, California.
The session will concentrate on embracing the digital mechanics to take the client expertise to a different stage.
We thought it will be enjoyable to get to know Jhun a bit higher forward of his collaborating at RFIS. Register right here.
Describe your present position
I at the moment function senior director, digital and loyalty, serving to lead a staff that’s liable for our digital owned media and loyalty which incorporates our first-party on-line ordering for internet and cellular apps, Church’s Actual Rewards and our CRM channels (e-mail, SMS and push notifications).
What was your first-ever profession position and what’s one necessary lesson you discovered from it?
Whereas it will not present up on my LinkedIn profile, my first job was making sandwiches and rolling burritos at an on-campus restaurant in school. I discovered by laborious work and lengthy hours that the little particulars could make a distinction within the closing product.
What impressed you to work in your business?
Whereas I would not essentially name it inspiration, my love for meals, coupled with my ardour for digital buyer experiences, are each huge elements of my present position.
What do you get pleasure from most about your present position?
What I get pleasure from probably the most about my present position is the chance to ship significant worth and experiences for our company whereas additionally making a optimistic affect for the enterprise with a lean staff that by no means hesitates to roll up our sleeves.
What’s a standard false impression individuals have about what you do?
That I really make the fried rooster.
What’s one profession achievement you are most pleased with?
Final yr I had the glory of representing our staff and model on the Loyalty360 Awards, the place I needed to current and make a ‘pitch’ to friends. We additionally have been acknowledged for the work we have now performed on our Actual Rewards loyalty program and we introduced residence three trophies, one in every of which was in the perfect of present. There have been a number of family manufacturers and stable packages represented, and it was an enormous affirmation of the work our staff had performed.
Who’s/was your mentor and what’s one necessary lesson you discovered from them?
Evy Schiffman was a fantastic mentor and one of many first individuals I labored for who was not a member of my household. She entrusted me with (in hindsight) a loopy quantity of labor as a 20-something that allowed me to be taught and develop, all with out lording something over me. She taught with a wholesome perspective that errors occur, however you be taught from them and maintain going.
What business tendencies do you suppose are at the moment over-hyped and why?
Some elements of AI do not sit effectively with me due to the shortage of scrutiny on how these instruments supply their data. I additionally consider we danger dropping a few of our humanity and our personal potential to suppose for ourselves if we let machines do an excessive amount of for us.
What business tendencies do you suppose do not get sufficient consideration and why?
I would like to see AI purposes focus extra on restaurant operations, like ‘straightforward buttons’ or AI assistants that busy restaurant managers can use to avoid wasting time. For instance, we not too long ago launched a chatbot powered by an LLM that enables us to assist our company at scale, however our companions did not have APIs available to assist that kind of utility. Or, particularly for loyalty program operators, making use of AI to detect and cease fraud.
What recommendation would you give to somebody simply beginning out in your business?
For anybody aspiring to work in digital advertising within the restaurant business, do as a lot as you may to grasp what is efficacious to your company and construct sturdy partnerships throughout the group, particularly IT and operations. It is necessary to do not forget that the work you need to do can’t be performed in isolation.
In the event you weren’t working in your present area, what would you be doing as a substitute?
If I had been gifted with 20/20 imaginative and prescient, I might need to be an airline pilot.
Is there anything you want to inform individuals about your self or your organization/group?
In the event you love fried rooster, do not sleep on Church’s. It delivers on taste and high quality each time.
