DALLAS -- Bill Engen has been appointed chief operating officer for Wingstop Restaurants Inc. effective immediately. Engen replaces Bill Knight, who is retiring after leading the Wingstop operations team for 11 years.

"Bill [Engen] is a dynamic leader who brings a wealth of operations and management expertise to Wingstop," said Charlie Morrison, president and CEO. "We're opening restaurants at record pace both in the U.S. and abroad, and Bill will be a tremendous asset to our team and to our franchisees as we continue to drive dramatic growth in both restaurant count and sales.

"Bill Knight's leadership helped take Wingstop from a regional brand to a national player, Morrison added. "He leaves a tremendous mark on this brand," he continued.Engen has more than 15 years of leadership and management experience, including executive management positions with 7-Eleven Inc. and Circuit City Inc. Most recently he was senior vice president, East Operations and division vice president at 7-Eleven Inc., directing operations for more than 4,000 franchised locations representing half of all domestics business with $7 billion in annual merchandise sales.Before joining 7-Eleven, Engen spent a decade at Circuit City Stores Inc. where he held several executive positions including vice president of retail operations and oversaw the company’s operations for more than 700 locations.

Wingstop operates more than 670 restaurants in the United States, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia, and it plans to begin operations soon in the United Arab Emirates. It is owned by affiliates of Roark Capital Group, an Atlanta-based private-equity firm specializing in business and consumer service companies with attractive growth prospects and revenues ranging from $20 million to more than $3 billion.