Wingstop Inc. Names Industry Veteran Darryl Marsch General Counsel

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) today announced the appointment of Darryl Marsch as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, effective July 25, 2016. Marsch brings 25 years of experience, including extensive domestic and international franchise restaurant experience, to the award-winning wing concept with more than 900 locations worldwide.  He will report directly to the Company’s president and chief executive officer, Charlie Morrison.

Marsch previously served as the general counsel and secretary for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE:KKD) during its turnaround and subsequent growth phase. There he guided the company through substantial legal issues and served on the senior management team during Krispy Kreme’s resurgence in domestic franchising and international expansion in over 25 countries.

“We are pleased to welcome Darryl, a highly regarded public company general counsel with significant industry experience, to our team,” said Charlie Morrison, Wingstop President and CEO. “Darryl has a proven track record of successful leadership within our sector and will play a strategic role in positioning Wingstop to continue delivering outstanding results for our franchisees and stockholders.”

Marsch joins Wingstop from the law firm of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP. Earlier in his career, he served as an in-house lawyer at R.J Reynolds and practiced law in the Washington, DC office of Jones Day.

“I am excited to join Wingstop as it continues to produce industry-leading results,” added Marsch. “The company’s differentiated ‘category of one’ positioning, compelling unit economics and exceptional growth characteristics make Wingstop a unique opportunity. I look forward to bringing my experience to the team to help drive results and build on the company’s success.”

About Wingstop:Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) operates and franchises 900 restaurants across the United States, Mexico, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates. Having grown its domestic same store sales for 12 consecutive years, the Company has been ranked #3 on the “Top 100 Fastest Growing Restaurant Chains” by Nation’s Restaurant News (2016), #7 on the “Top 40 Fast Casual Chains” by Restaurant Business (2016), and was named “Best Franchise Deal in North America” by QSR magazine (2014).  Wingstop also recently earned recognition as a certified Great Place to Work® (2016). The Wing Experts’ menu features classic and boneless wings with 11 bold, distinctive flavors including Original Hot, Cajun, Atomic, Mild, Teriyaki, Lemon Pepper, Hawaiian, Garlic Parmesan, Hickory Smoked BBQ, Louisiana Rub and Mango Habanero. Wingstop’s wings are always cooked to order, hand-sauced and tossed and served with a variety of house-made sides including hand-cut, seasoned fries. For more information visit www.wingstop.com or www.wingstopfranchise.com.  Follow us on facebook.com/Wingstop and Twitter @Wingstop.

Forward-looking InformationCertain statements contained in this news release, as well as other information provided from time to time by Wingstop Inc. or its employees, may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.  You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts.  These statements may include words such as “guidance,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “believe,” “confident,” “may,” “should,” “can have,” “likely,” “future” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events.

Any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance or results, and involve risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the Company’s control) and assumptions. Although we believe any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect our actual financial results and cause them to differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements. Please refer to the risk factors discussed in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 26, 2015, which can be found at the SEC’s website www.sec.gov.  The discussion of these risks is specifically incorporated by reference into this news release.

Any forward-looking statement made by Wingstop Inc. in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Media Contact:
Joy Murphy, ICR
[e-mail]
646.277.1242

IR Contact
Raphael Gross, ICR
[e-mail]
203.682.8253