LOUISVILLE, KY. — William Mitchell, formerly senior vice-president of domestic operations since February 2007, has been promoted to president, USA, at Papa John’s International, Inc. He succeeds William Van Epps, who is leaving to pursue other interests.

Mr. Mitchell has more than 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry, including as division vice-president for the Midwest at Papa John’s and operations vice-president for the central United States. Prior to joining Papa John’s, he was with AFC Enterprises, Inc., where he held various roles, including senior director of franchise operations for Popeye’s restaurants. Earlier, he was with RTM Restaurant Group and PepsiCo, Inc.

"Bill Mitchell is a talented operator and I am pleased to have him lead our U.S. corporate and franchise operations teams," said John Schnatter, founder, chairman and interim chief executive officer of Papa John’s. "Bill and his outstanding team of operators in the field do a great job delivering on our ‘Better Ingredients, Better Pizza’ brand promise every day.