In a time of exciting growth and innovation for the Pizza Hut® brand, Pizza Hut, LLC is launching a new series, Work Here, Grow Here, to spotlight those who have contributed to the Brand’s rich history and vision for the future, plus what’s happening today. In this career journey series, you’ll discover a range of stories not found anywhere else. These features will offer a mix of career paths and give you treasures from the Pizza Hut archives, relevant and valuable takeaways, and content highlighting the unrivaled talent who help bring the Brand’s mission of connecting people through the joy of pizza to life. So, without further ado, let’s cut the virtual ribbon. Check out Work Here, Grow Here x Peter Graham!
Did you know that according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median number of years wage and salary employees have been with their employer was 4.1 years in January 2022 unchanged from the median in January 2020? Pizza Hut, LLC recently caught up with Peter Graham who joined the Pizza Hut Brand as a Restaurant General Manager in 1993. You read that right 31 years ago. During his time with the Brand, Peter has held twelve roles, ranging from training, area management, and product development to his current role as Director, Pizza Hut U.S. Operations Development, Engineering, and Guest Advocacy.
From Restaurant General Manager to Director, Pizza Hut U.S. Operations Development, Engineering and Guest Advocacy
Peter will never forget walking through the doors of the nostalgic Red Roof restaurant in 1993 as a bright-eyed new Pizza Hut Restaurant General Manager (RGM) in Kimball, Tennessee. As RGM, he ran day-to-day operations, including guest experience, financial controls, people development, and food safety. As history would have it, Peter joined just as a momentous shift was beginning for the Pizza Hut Brand. In 1994, the Pizza Hut Brand became the first national chain to offer pizza delivery ordering on the Internet. With this new business model and his love for supporting teammates through growth and development, Peter’s career journey was about to take him on an exciting ride spanning more than three decades, eleven U.S. patents, a dozen roles, and an Italian adventure with the launch of an iconic signature menu item – all the while – connecting people through the joy of pizza.
Today, as the Director of Operations Development, Engineering, and Guest Advocacy, Peter leads teams that provide support to the Brand’s independent franchise organizations so that their restaurants can give consistent operational execution, have efficient and effective smallwares and equipment, and represent the voice of the guest to improve their experience with their restaurants. Or, as Peter concisely describes it, helping Pizza Hut System restaurants make and serve great pizzas.
Peter attributes part of his extensive successful career with the Pizza Hut brand to embracing the uncomfortable, learning from everyone, understanding that we are in the people business, and we happen to sell pizza, and admitting when we are wrong. With this mindset throughout the years, he was part of the team that won the 2009 Restaurant News MenuMasters Award for the development and launch of Tuscani® Pasta and traveled to Rome, Italy, to support its commercial shoot. Peter also worked on the team that developed and launched Cheesy Bites Pizza, which garnered conversation in multiple Big Game mentions and has shown up in different forms around the globe, just to name a few.
People Passion and Enthusiasm for Growth
Peter searched for new opportunities to help people as he grew his career and found fulfillment with social impact opportunities through Pizza Hut LLC and Yum! Brands. As part of disaster relief efforts after a tornado devastated an Oklahoma, OK community in 2013, Peter volunteered alongside other team members, providing food and essential items for an impacted franchise organization and community members. Peter recounts the lasting impact this social impact initiative had on him over the years and believes one thing that rivals his pizza passion is his people passion.
As a Brand, Pizza Hut LLC and its parent company, Yum! Brands, offer their employees a variety of benefits to fuel their professional development. With his enthusiasm for growth, Peter took advantage of these benefits, completing educational programs at Rutgers University in New Jersey, the University of Guelph in Ontario, and the Culinary Institute of America in California to advance his career over the years.
When he’s not leading his current team facilitating efficient operations, Peter enjoys spending time with his wife Teresa of 39 years, two daughters (Jennifer and Kristine), and two granddaughters (Zoe, 8 and Vivienne, 2).
Peter’s unique career journey highlights a commonality across the Pizza Hut brand team: unrivaled talent committed to connecting people through the joy of pizza and growing their careers across diverse disciplines. If you’re interested in the possibility of starting or growing your career at Pizza Hut LLC, check out the Pizza Hut careers page to learn more about corporate career opportunities and join the talent pool to stay connected for future opportunities.