Who’s Who: Craig Moore, CEO, CiCi’s Pizza

Pizza Market Place:

WANTED: CEO of a growing regional pizza buffet chain seeking national expansion. Must be able to follow in the footsteps of a legendary, dynamic, visionary entrepreneur-founder who is selling company. Must be able to win the approval of present executive leadership and franchise operators, be an expert in store-level operations and know all aspects of a big-company balance sheet. All interested parties should apply …

Though the “want ad” is fictional, the frightening particulars aren’t. In 2002, Joe Croce, founder of CiCi’s Pizza, was preparing to sell what was then a 400-store company. He knew the buyers would be CiCi’s executive management team, a plan he’d pondered for years. But the question of his replacement as chief executive and president remained unanswered. He didn’t want a hand-picked puppet he could manipulate by financial strings; a sale and a clean break was his aim.To complicate matters, Croce charged the executive team itself to make the decision—and choose one of its own to be their boss. Croce knew who he wanted, and lucky for him, the management team agreed. His successor would be Craig Moore, a long-time CiCi’s veteran.

“Craig was the only person I was considering because he was the operator in the group, the person who understood what the franchisees were going through every day,” said Joe Croce, who retired after the sale, but remains active as a speaker. “When he started at CiCi’s 13 years ago, you could look into his eyes and see a spark, a genuine passion. And when you meet him today you can still see it.”