Mountain Mike’s Pizza Franchise Promotes Ryan Lulow to CFO

Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a California-based family-style pizza franchise, has promoted Ryan Lulow to chief financial officer. He served as the brand’s controller in 2020 and was promoted to vice president of finance in 2021. Throughout his tenure, Lulow has elevated the company’s financial reporting and forecasting capabilities and partnered with franchise development partners to support growth.

“Mountain Mike’s stood out to me as a brand with real staying power because of its strong guest loyalty, differentiated product experience and a culture rooted in family and community,” Lulow said. “It already had the ingredients of a great brand; the opportunity was to elevate it into a best-in-class franchise system. When I first visited the restaurant, it was the best pizza I’ve ever eaten.”

He looks forward to building a system that aligns the pizza brand’s capital allocation, franchisee profitability and strategic growth. “This role represents a unique opportunity to shape the financial architecture of a brand in expansion mode.”

Lulow pointed to strong visibility into unit economics, disciplined capital allocation at scale and the ability to scale operations through robust financial infrastructure as central to Mountain Mike’s future growth. “Franchisees should have complete transparency into what drives profitability and how to optimize it. Every dollar deployed should strengthen the system’s long-term earning power, not just short-term growth. Finance should enable franchisees to grow faster with fewer barriers, not add friction.”

Jim Metevier, chief executive officer of Mountain Mike’s Pizza, said Lulow has been an asset since joining in 2020. “As Mountain Mike’s continues to surpass growth objectives, Ryan’s business acumen and ambition will help to maintain our financial momentum by identifying cost-saving opportunities, enhancing operations and cultivating interest among potential franchisees,” Metevier said.

Lulow lives in California with his wife, son and award-winning Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Willow. He has traveled to 70-plus countries, which he credits for shaping how he thinks about people, culture and business.

Founded in 1978, Mountain Mike’s Pizza is known for its pizzas, chicken wings, garlic knots, fresh salads and sharable desserts. The brand’s nearly 330 family-friendly locations have a kids’ activity area with arcade games, dedicated party rooms and big screen TVs.