---
title: "Pamela Smith to serve as interim CFO at Portillo's"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/04556f82-bf64-49f2-a0fa-a41ba0f52556
source: "Nation's Restaurant News"
original_url: https://www.nrn.com/restaurant-executives/pamela-smith-to-serve-as-interim-cfo-at-portillo-s
author: "Lisa Jennings"
category: "Burger"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Burger"
topics: ["People"]
published: 2026-05-21T22:58:16.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T13:16:33.922Z
image: https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/bltea7aee2fca050a19/blt2797403882f629b2/6a0f8eb3e41d587e7a15bdfb/Portillos_allen.jpg?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale
---

# Pamela Smith to serve as interim CFO at Portillo's

**TL;DR:** Pamela Smith will serve as interim CFO at Portillo's, replacing Michelle Hook who left to become CFO of Shake Shack. Smith is the founder and CEO of a boutique advisory firm and will be compensated at $14,000 per week as an independent contractor.

*By Lisa Jennings, originally published in Nation's Restaurant News on 2026-05-21. [Read the original](https://www.nrn.com/restaurant-executives/pamela-smith-to-serve-as-interim-cfo-at-portillo-s).*

## Story

Portillo's is rethinking its growth strategy. Portillo's

Portillo’s has named an interim chief financial officer.

The Chicago-based fast-casual chain on Thursday said Pamela Smith will serve as both CFO and principal accounting officer, replacing Michelle Hook, who announced her departure in early May. Hook was named CFO of Shake Shack.

Smith is the founder and CEO of a boutique advisory firm that provides interim leadership and strategic planning support to public and private companies. She is a previous senior vice president, corporate, financial planning and analysis for Estee Lauder Companies. Before that, she was with Redbox.

At Portillo’s, Smith will serve as an independent contractor compensated at $14,000 per week through July 1, unless terminated earlier or the agreement is extended, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.

Portillo’s board has hired a global executive research firm to assist in the search process for a permanent CFO.

## Entities

- QSR (sector)
- Nation's Restaurant News (publication)
- growth strategy (topic)
- Shake Shack (company)
- Lisa Jennings (person)
- cfo appointment (topic)
- Portillo's (company)
- executive change (topic)
- Michelle Hook (person)
- The Estee Lauder Companies (company)
- Pamela Smith (person)
- Redbox (company)

---
Originally reported by Lisa Jennings, Nation's Restaurant News (https://www.nrn.com/restaurant-executives/pamela-smith-to-serve-as-interim-cfo-at-portillo-s). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/04556f82-bf64-49f2-a0fa-a41ba0f52556).