Ex-Sears CEO Gets A Second Shot

Chicago Business News:

Aylwin Lewis has held a CEO title before, but now he’s out to prove he can run a company.

In three years as CEO of Sears Holdings Corp., Mr. Lewis had to work in the shadow of Chairman Edward Lampert, who controls the retailer and makes all strategic decisions.

Now, Mr. Lewis has a new job as CEO of Potbelly Sandwich Works and a mission to take the closely held 200-store Chicago chain national. It’s a chance to show his skill as a corporate strategist and company leader, the opportunity denied him at Sears.

Running the show is important to Mr. Lewis, who wouldn’t consider any non-CEO jobs after being ousted from Sears in February.

“I was only going to come back to work as a CEO,” he says. “I’m qualified to be a CEO, and there is nothing like being a CEO. Once you have a taste, it’s hard to give it up.”

Mr. Lewis, 54, who started in June, is working on a smaller stage than previous jobs with Sears and Yum Brands Inc., the parent of Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell. But there are parallels with Sears.

He now answers to Bryant Keil, who, like Mr. Lampert, is a chairman with a big ownership stake. Mr. Keil spent more than a decade as Potbelly CEO and plans to stay “pretty involved” in the business. Still, Mr. Keil says that Mr. Lewis has “full authority” to make decisions and expand the company.

When asked about taking the company public, Mr. Lewis took a long pause before saying, “I don’t think (going public) is an end game, but that could be a byproduct of all our hard work.”

Mr. Keil says the company, which generates more than $200 million in annual sales, has plenty of capital to continue growing. He says franchising is something he will consider, but he voices some reservations. Selling franchisees would be a major strategic change for Potbelly, which owns and operates all of its stores.

“You go down the franchise path, you lose some control and you have to be very cautious about it,” Mr. Keil says.