Former Chipotle Marketing Executive joins category-defining chicken brand

San Francisco, CA  (RestaurantNews.com)  Starbird is strengthening its leadership team by naming Jonathan Zacks as vice president of marketing. The appointment comes as Starbird builds its infrastructure and expands into new markets with franchise partners.

Zacks brings more than 20 years of marketing experience developing brand and growth strategies for some of the industry’s most recognized restaurant brands, including Chipotle, Sweetgreen, Pinkberry and Jamba.

Most recently, Zacks served as director of brand activation at Chipotle. There, he led market-level growth strategies, go-to-market strategy for new restaurants, and national brand campaigns that reinforced Chipotle’s purpose through paid media, social and influencer marketing, digital marketing, partnerships and local activations.

At Starbird, Zacks will join the company’s executive leadership team, reporting directly to CEO Greg Levin. He will lead the company’s marketing strategy across corporate restaurants and its expanding franchise system – including brand strategy, culinary, guest acquisition and loyalty, and franchise marketing – driving new market entry through company-owned growth and in partnership with franchisees as Starbird scales nationally.

“Jonathan understands how to build brands that resonate with guests while delivering measurable results,” said Greg Levin, CEO of Starbird. “He has a track record of creating culturally relevant marketing campaigns and developing high-performing teams for some of the most recognized brands in the industry. His strategic mindset and franchise perspective make him an outstanding addition to our leadership team as we continue to scale Starbird across the country.”

Zacks’ appointment is the latest in a series of leadership investments designed to support Starbird’s next phase of growth. Over the past year, the company has added Greg Levin as chief executive officer, Stefanie Lee as chief financial officer and former Jersey Mike’s president Hoyt Jones as an advisor to the board of directors, reflecting Starbird’s continued investment in experienced leadership to support its next phase of growth. Today, Starbird’s restaurants and franchise development span California, Colorado, Texas, Washington, Utah, Illinois and more.

“I’m excited to join Starbird during such an exciting period of growth,” said Zacks. “The brand has built a strong foundation rooted in innovation and quality ingredients, and I look forward to building on that momentum by growing brand awareness and bringing the Starbird experience to even more communities.”

To learn more about Starbird, please visit StarbirdChicken.com.

About Starbird

Founded in San Francisco in 2016, Starbird is a chef-crafted fast food brand serving Positively Delicious Chicken^®, signature housemade sauces, lemonades, iced teas and local craft soda.. The brand’s menu features signature crispy chicken across tenders, wings, sandwiches and salads – made with bold flavors, high quality ingredients and a focus on consistency and execution.

Starbird was founded by restaurant entrepreneur Aaron Noveshen through his firm, The Culinary Edge, with a vision to bring higher quality food and thoughtful hospitality to quick-service dining. Built upon pillars of culinary innovation, a frictionless service model and operational excellence, Starbird has established a differentiated position within the $34 billion U.S. chicken category. Today, the brand operates 19 locations and continues to expand into new communities.

Starbird’s fresh, chef-driven approach has earned widespread industry recognition, including being named Nation’s Restaurant News’ Chicken Showdown winner in 2023, appearing on Fast Casual’s Top 100 Movers & Shakers for nine consecutive years (ranking #7 in 2025), and landing on Restaurant Business/Technomic’s Future 50 list. Starbird has also been featured in Food & Wine’s “Top 10 Airports for Food and Drink.”

For more information, go to StarbirdChicken.com, or follow the brand on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn.

Contact:
Paul Donahie
Champion
908-239-8679
pdonahie@championmgt.com