HMSHost has appointed industry veteran Joe Thornton as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. HMSHost operates in more than 120 airports around the globe and at more than 80 travel plazas in North America. In this role, Thornton will oversee HMSHost operations of more than 1,700 food and beverage locations in North America, as well as Culinary, Supply Chain, and Marketing & Communications.
Joe is an experienced operations leader who brings a demonstrated record of achieving results. Most recently, Joe was Chief Operating Officer at Jamba Juice where he led all field and headquarter functions related to operations, operations services, and training, as well as supporting franchise owners across the country. Prior to Jamba Juice, Joe was with Starbucks Coffee Company for 11 years including as Senior Vice President, where he led the operation of 2,400 company-operated stores and 40,000 employees.
Joe is actively involved in diversity work and is a keynote speaker on the topic of leadership in the community. He is also a published author, his first book, “The Power Of Or”, was released in February 2020.
About HMSHost
Global restaurateur HMSHost is a world leader in creating dining for travel venues. HMSHost operates in more than 120 airports around the globe and at more than 80 travel plazas in North America. The company has annual sales of more than $3.5 billion and employs approximately 41,000 associates worldwide. HMSHost is a part of Autogrill Group, the world’s leading provider of food & beverage services for people on the move. With sales of €4.7 billion in 2018, the group operates in 31 countries and employs over 60,000 people. It manages more than 4,000 stores in more than 1,000 locations worldwide. Visit HMSHost.com for more information and connect with HMSHost on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
