Artie Starrs was named President of Pizza Hut U.S. in April 2016. In his role, Artie is responsible for the pizza restaurant company’s overall strategic vision and planning, including all aspects of the business, culture & people capability. Prior to his role as President, Artie served as General Manager and Chief Financial Officer of Pizza Hut U.S., where he led the development and implementation of the brand’s current strategic roadmap. A proven growth mindset leader, Artie has a passion for the customer experience and has established a well-deserved reputation for delivering results, no matter the challenge. From recent investments in digital and delivery innovation to product quality enhancements to launching the Hut Rewards loyalty program, Artie is instrumental in rallying the entire Pizza Hut system to stay laser-focused on the Company’s primary mission – making it easier for consumers to get a better pizza. Artie has also overseen the continued growth and success of employee and community initiatives supported by Pizza Hut, including the award-winning Life Unboxed, an employee rallying cry that encourages and enables employees to become their best, make friends and have fun along the way. In fact, Life Unboxed earned the 2017 Brandon Hall Gold award for Best Employee Value Proposition. Under Artie’s leadership Pizza Hut created a global platform dedicated to tackling illiteracy, called Pizza Hut: The Literacy Project. Through this platform, Pizza Hut has a goal to impact 100 million lives over 10 years by enabling access to books and educational resources, empowering teachers and inspiring readers. In the first year of this commitment, Pizza Hut touched the lives of 15.9 million people and distributed more than 275,000 books. Artie has a personal passion for bringing the mission of The Literacy Project to life for students and families in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He is specifically passionate about Pizza Hut’s partnership with Uplift Education, which is dedicated to preparing more than 17,500 DFW-area students for college. Artie received an A.B. degree in Economics from Princeton University and focuses time helping organizations dedicated to children and education through board service or advisory work. These include the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, The First Tee of Dallas, the Ben Hogan Foundation and the 21st Century Council at Southern Methodist University.
