---
title: "Ascent Hospitality Management Names James O’Reilly Chief Executive Officer"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/b5e7ab9e-a0f7-4368-a215-88769bb94fde
source: "Franchising.com"
original_url: https://www.franchising.com/news/20230616_ascent_hospitality_management_names_james_oreilly_chief_executive_officer.html
category: "Hotels"
industry: "Lodging & Travel"
segment: "Hotels"
topics: ["Development & multi-unit","People"]
published: 2023-06-16T12:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T20:33:31.075Z
image: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1542744095-291d1f67b221?w=1600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop
---

# Ascent Hospitality Management Names James O’Reilly Chief Executive Officer

**TL;DR:** Ascent Hospitality Management has named James O'Reilly as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective June 19, 2023. O'Reilly will lead the company's growth and development across its Huddle House and Perkins Restaurant & Bakery brands.

*originally published in Franchising.com on 2023-06-16. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/news/20230616_ascent_hospitality_management_names_james_oreilly_chief_executive_officer.html).*

## Story

Atlanta, GA – Ascent Hospitality Management (“Ascent”), a multi-brand restaurant company with a portfolio of Huddle House and Perkins Restaurant & Bakery locations, is proud to announce that James O’Reilly will become the company’s Chief Executive Officer, effective Monday, June 19, 2023. O’Reilly replaces Michael Abt, who has served as Chief Executive since 2012.

O’Reilly will be responsible for leading a new phase of growth and development across Ascent’s celebrated brands, while continuing to build on the strong foundation of its high-performing franchise and company-operated restaurants.

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to lead these two legendary, family-dining brands,” said James O’Reilly, Chief Executive Officer, Ascent Hospitality Management. “We have significant opportunities ahead to grow and expand both restaurant brands and I look forward to working with our franchisees and the Ascent team to maximize our potential.”

Prior to joining Ascent, O’Reilly served as CEO of Smokey Bones since 2019 and previously led Long John Silver’s as its Chief Executive. He has also held senior leadership positions at Sonic and Yum! Brands domestically and internationally. O’Reilly began his career with Proctor & Gamble in Canada.

## Entities

- Franchising.com (publication)
- brand growth (topic)
- Lodging & Travel (sector)
- Yum Brands (company)
- ceo appointment (topic)
- restaurant management (topic)
- Sonic (company)
- Huddle House (company)
- Ascent Hospitality Management (company)
- Long John Silver's (company)
- Perkins Restaurant and Bakery (company)
- Smokey Bones (company)

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Originally reported by Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/news/20230616_ascent_hospitality_management_names_james_oreilly_chief_executive_officer.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/b5e7ab9e-a0f7-4368-a215-88769bb94fde).