Chief Information Officer, Dine Brands Global
Search every verified Justin Skelton interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Justin Skelton, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Dine Brands Global, discussed his role and the challenges of restaurant technology in a September 2024 interview on the Restrocast podcast. Skelton stated that he runs all information technology for the company, which includes restaurant technology. He noted that Dine Brands is 100% franchised, making technology investments a collaborative process requiring buy-in from individual business owners. Skelton said that when the pandemic hit, the company had to quickly accelerate digital solutions like pay-on-your-own-device and digital menus, which had previously been experiments. Skelton described his career path, which included roles at Allstate Insurance, Bank of America, and CVS, before joining Dine Brands. He said that taking the CIO role during the pandemic was a challenge due to the need to make difficult decisions about funding and personnel reductions while the industry was in crisis. Skelton added that reporting directly to the CEO signaled that IT is seen as a strategic partner. He also commented that the restaurant technology industry is still in its infancy and that COVID accelerated existing trends, creating opportunities to innovate and modernize the technology stack.
“When the pandemic hit, restaurants were closing down, and there was no in-restaurant dining. We had to pivot quickly to accelerate digital solutions like pay-on-your-own-device and digital menus, which were previously just experiments but became essential almost overnight.”
“We are 100% franchised, so technology investments require buy-in from many individual business owners who have to carefully consider every dollar spent. This makes deploying new technology like point-of-sale systems a massive undertaking compared to corporate-owned stores.”
“I wasn’t entirely shocked by how behind the restaurant industry is on technology because even some Fortune 10 companies are far behind in certain areas. Retail margins and cost of capital impact how much can be invested in technology.”
“Technology should be brand-led. Without business sponsorship aligned to the technology strategy, initiatives get stalled. This is especially true in a franchised restaurant model where alignment across franchisees is critical.”
In this installment, we are thrilled to have Justin Skelton, the Senior Vice President and CIO at Dine Brands Global, as our special ...Today with me is Justin Skelton . He's a senior V.P. and CIO at Dine Brands. Justin's journey is not only a long but an extremely ...
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