Burger King President Quits to Become Jamba Juice CEO

Burger King Corp.’s North American chief resigned Monday to become chief executive of privately held juice-bar chain Jamba Juice Co., the companies said.

Paul Clayton, 40, former president of the Miami-based fast-food chain’s North American division, will begin serving as CEO of Jamba Juice next month. He replaces Glenn Bacheller, 45, who resigned Monday as president after 3 1/2 years with the fruit-smoothie vendor.

While at Burger King, Clayton presided over one of the most successful promotions in the chain’s history when it began offering toys associated with “Pokemon: The First Movie.” But the tie-in, Clayton acknowledged recently, also became a public relations nightmare.

Burger King last month recalled 25 million toys after a 13-month-old girl suffocated while playing with a plastic Pokemon ball. Prior to that, customer complaints flooded the company when it ran out of Pokemon merchandise weeks ahead of schedule. Clayton took out two full-page ads in a national newspaper to apologize.

But Jamba Juice founder and Chairman Kirk Perron, 35, said Clayton agreed to join the smoothie maker before the Pokemon tie-in campaign was launched Nov. 8. He said Jamba Juice’s board began its search for a CEO several months ago.

Perron said Bacheller “decided to leave instead of staying and reporting to someone else.”

Clayton “has a great marketing background and really understands store operations,” Perron said. “He can lead the company well into the future.”

Clayton, who held sales and marketing positions at Burger King since 1984, is expected to help Jamba Juice expand its company-owned and franchised stores into Florida and other states this year, Perron said.

“My decision was based on the fact that they have a terrific brand, a rich culture, a terrific product and a rich future,” Clayton said.

Burger King has not yet named Clayton’s replacement.

There are about 275 Jamba Juice stores in the West and Southwest.