NEW YORK — Brent Franks has been named to the newly created role of chief operating officer at Godiva Chocolatier.

He joins the company from Aramark, where he was c.o.o. Before that, he spent nearly three decades at PepsiCo Bottling Co. in a variety of positions, including vice-president of sales, senior vice-president and chief customer officer for North America, senior-vice president of global sales and chief customer officer, and president of P.B.C. Mexico.

As Godiva’s first c.o.o., Mr. Franks will oversee efforts to drive unified growth as the company continues expanding beyond formal gifting into new channels and categories. Annie Young-Scrivner, chief executive officer at Godiva, said she created the role as part of vision for unlocking fivefold growth for the business worldwide. Mr. Franks is now the ninth member of the company’s executive committee to be appointed by Ms. Young-Scrivner since she became c.e.o. two years ago.

“Godiva is at a pivotal point where the role of c.o.o. is necessary to ensure that operational excellence will scale at the same pace as our aspirations for global business growth,” Ms. Young-Scrivner said. “Brent is a proven leader who brings a combination of operational expertise, outstanding customer service and inspirational leadership to the c.o.o. role. I look forward to realizing the full potential that Brent’s impressive experience represents for our business as we continue to make our brand more accessible through our Godiva Cafes and the expansion of our consumer packaged goods business.”