Howard Alum Chequan Lewis to Deliver Executive Lecture at Howard University School of Business

By Brittany Bailer

The Howard University School of Business will launch its annual Executive Lecture Series with a visit from Crunch Fitness President and Howard alum Chequan Lewis (B.A. ’05). The title of his lecture is “Legendary: Powered by Legacy.” 

As president, Lewis works directly with Crunch executives and franchise partners to develop growth strategies, improve performance, and elevate the Crunch brand. He was most recently the Chief Operating Officer for Pizza Hut, where he led the operational focus of service and experience for the Pizza Hut customers and the restaurant teams serving them. He previously held other leadership roles at Pizza Hut U.S., including his groundbreaking role as their first Chief Equity Officer, where he drove the company’s DEI strategy for Pizza Hut as a franchisor, employer, and member of the community.   

Lewis graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 2005. After graduation, he attended Harvard Law School, became a business litigator, and served as a Presidential Leadership Scholar deeply committed to civic engagement. Before law school, he worked in business management with McMaster-Carr Supply Company.

Ahead of his return to Alma Mater, Lewis participated in a question-and-answer session as a preview of his lecture. He discussed the things that have led him to professional success. 

Why was it important for you to come back to Howard to participate in this lecture series? 

Because it’s Howard. Full stop. Howard is much more than my Alma Mater. It genuinely helped shape my identity. It helped shift my trajectory. To this day, Howard holds a lasting place in my heart and in my imagination, shaping what is still possible in my story and in the stories of the local and global community. I try to come home whenever I can.

Was there a particular experience during your time as a Howard student that contributed to your career success? If so, please explain.   

Oh, man! It feels like a fool’s errand to try to narrow it down to one. Let me try it this way: my Howard experience was defined by always trying to do the most I could with the gifts (e.g., time and talent) I’d been given. Thinking, then learning, and then finally, believing I always had more to give was a transformative experience for me. When I was at HU, I served as president of Beta Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; I served in student government; I mentored at Bruce Monroe Elementary; I was Mr. Howard University; I was in the Honors program in the COAS; and more. The point is that I always was being pushed, stretched, and tested – by the use of time, by my professors and advisors, by my peers, and by my American experiences of “coming of age” in Black skin in D.C. The refining fire of these experiences directly informed how my uncommon career path has unfolded, and I’m so grateful for the depth and breadth of them. 

What milestones in your career were most integral to leading you to your current position? 

Two milestones, post-Howard, come to mind. The first is graduating from Harvard Law School. My Harvard experience was critical because it opened yet another set of doors for me. The initial door was to a complex business litigation practice in Big Law. As you can imagine, the junior associate life wasn’t fun for many days, but it challenged me as a writer, storyteller, thinker, and problem-solver. I look back on those years now and smile, which is much easier now that I’m not billing hours every waking minute, knowing how much more effective of a change agent those long days made me. The second is making the leap to leave the practice of law. By 2018, I’d spent multiple years in Big Law and made the jump to practicing in-house at Pizza Hut/Yum Brands. After about seven years of being the lawyer each day, I told Pizza Hut I was ready for a new challenge — I was ready to jump headfirst into the business side. I’m fortunate Yum! Brands saw what I was capable of and not just what I’d done. Before I knew it, I was running the Pizza Hut Express business and on a path that ultimately led me to serve in the role of Chief Operating Officer of Pizza Hut U.S. That path led directly to my role as the President of Crunch today.     

The title of your lecture is “Legendary: Powered by Legacy.” How has the idea of legacy impacted your career and why is it important for business leaders in general to consider the role of legacy in their careers?   

Legacy is critical to me because it always allows me to place myself in a deeper context. I’m not just Chequan: I’m the grandson of a Korean War vet and a sharecropper who exemplified sacrificial love. I’m the son of a Navy vet turned computer programmer and psychology student who took a road much less traveled to love me to health (literally) at my most vulnerable age in life. I’m so much more than what people can find on LinkedIn because of the legacy I carry in my DNA. And I’ve been blessed by the challenge of extending Howard’s legacy, as well. As a Howard alumnus, I have been given so much, and rightfully, have so much expected of me. That is an animating force in my life. And I think it’s important for business leaders to see themselves in a deeper context because that helps you tap into something deeper each day. Quarterly results may rise and fall, and unit counts may expand or contract, but the legacy that lives in you and the legacy you seek to extend never fades. That has mattered to me in the brightest and the darkest moments of my career.