TORONTO – Tim Hortons appointed Axel Schwan as regional president of Tim Hortons for Canada and the US effective immediately.

In his new role, Scwhan will oversee the Tim Hortons business in the US and Canada with a specific focus on delivering growth in both markets. He previously served as global chief marketing officer at Tim Hortons.

“Since joining the Tim Hortons brand two years ago, Axel has led our innovation work in coffee, including developing our new Fresh Brewers — our largest coffee innovation in 55 years,” said Alex Macedo, Tim Hortons Global Brand president. “He has been essential to our work underway today on our core product innovation pipeline in breakfast, donuts and baked goods and has led our efforts in brand-based advertising. Axel has been an advocate for advancing our sustainability initiatives and has also led our work to redesign our restaurants and our packaging for a better guest experience.”

Schwan joined Restaurant Brands International (RBI) eight years ago as marketing director in Germany, Austria & Switzerland. He later advanced to vice president of Marketing and Communication in Europe before taking the role of global CMO for Burger King. During his tenure, Schwan and his team earned many home market and international Cannes Lions honors, and Schwan earned the Cannes Marketer of the Year in 2017. He then joined Tim Hortons as global CMO in 2017.

“I am deeply humbled to work at such an iconic brand as Tim Hortons,” Schwan said. “Having grown up in a family of restauranteurs and working as a restaurant operator myself, I look forward to continuing to work closely with our 1,500 restaurant owners across Canada and the rest of the Tim Hortons family in providing exceptional products and service to all our guests.”