The race to automate the quick-service restaurant (QSR) experience has shifted from a conceptual experiment to a critical operational necessity. As brands struggle to balance speed of service with rising labor costs and guest expectations, the ability to integrate artificial intelligence into the drive-thru without disrupting the kitchen has become a primary competitive battleground.
Hi Auto, a company specializing in voice-driven automation, is positioning itself to capture this enterprise demand. The company recently announced the appointment of Parrish Chapman as Executive Vice President of Sales, a strategic move designed to accelerate AI drive-thru adoption across major restaurant chains.
Chapman assumes leadership of the company’s sales organization, enterprise growth strategy, and customer expansion. His primary mandate is to scale the deployment of Hi Auto’s AI Order Taker, a system designed to handle the complexities of drive-thru interactions while reducing the operational burden on human staff.
The appointment comes at a time when QSR operators are under significant pressure to find technology that improves throughput and accuracy without adding layers of operational complexity. For Hi Auto, the challenge is not merely building a functional AI, but navigating the intricate procurement and implementation cycles of multi-unit enterprise accounts.
The Advantage of the Operator’s Perspective
In the crowded landscape of hospitality technology, enterprise sales experience is common. However, a sales executive who has physically operated the units they are selling to is a rarity. Chapman brings a dual perspective that Hi Auto believes will be pivotal in closing deals with skeptical operators.
Before transitioning into technology leadership, Chapman operated as a franchisee for both Dairy Queen and Church’s Chicken. He also spent a significant portion of his early career within the corporate operations of Wendy’s. This background allows him to enter sales conversations not as a software vendor, but as a former peer who understands the stressors of the unit level.
This operational fluency is critical because the failure of a new technology in a drive-thru is measured in seconds and lost tickets. An executive who understands the friction of a lunch rush is better equipped to articulate how an AI Order Taker integrates into a high-pressure environment without creating new bottlenecks for the crew.
Navigating the Enterprise Sales Maze
Selling AI to a global or national restaurant brand is rarely a straightforward transaction. It requires alignment across a diverse set of stakeholders, including corporate IT teams, finance departments, and—most crucially—franchisee associations.
For a system to be adopted at scale, it must demonstrate three things: reliability across thousands of unique locations, seamless integration with existing point-of-sale (POS) infrastructure, and a measurable impact on the KPIs that operators already track, such as average order value and window time.
Chapman’s recent professional history suggests he is well-versed in this complexity. He previously served as Chief Sales Officer at Olo, a leading platform for digital ordering and guest engagement. At Olo, he dealt directly with the decision-making structures of the industry’s largest restaurant groups, managing the intersection of digital commerce and physical operations.
Prior to his tenure at Olo, Chapman was the Chief Revenue Officer at GRUBBRR, where he led the go-to-market strategy for self-ordering kiosks. His career is further supported by senior roles at Samsung Electronics America and Panasonic Connect North America, rounding out a trajectory that consistently places him at the intersection of large-scale hardware deployment and hospitality.
The Strategic Moment for Voice AI
The industry is currently in an active evaluation phase. Many major chains are testing various iterations of voice AI to determine if the technology can handle the nuance of human speech—including accents, noise interference, and complex modifications—reliably enough to replace or augment human order-takers.
Roy Baharav, CEO and Co-founder of Hi Auto, noted that Chapman’s blend of experience is a specific asset for this growth phase. “Parrish brings a unique combination of enterprise sales leadership, restaurant operational knowledge, and deep understanding of hospitality technology,” Baharav said. “His experience working with some of the industry’s most recognized brands makes him an outstanding addition to our leadership team as we continue to scale.”
Chapman views the appointment as a reflection of the industry’s current urgency. “I’m excited to join Hi Auto at such an important stage of growth for the restaurant industry,” Chapman said. “AI-driven guest engagement and operational efficiency are rapidly becoming critical priorities for restaurant brands, and Hi Auto is exceptionally well-positioned to help operators deliver faster, more consistent, and more personalized drive-thru experiences.”
Comparison of Digital Transformation Touchpoints
| Technology Focus | Primary Goal | Key Stakeholder Concern |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Ordering Kiosks | Labor reduction/Upselling | Guest friction/Hardware maintenance |
| Digital Ordering (Olo) | Omnichannel reach | POS integration/Data silos |
| AI Order Taker (Hi Auto) | Drive-thru throughput | Accuracy/Operational complexity |
What Lies Ahead for Hi Auto
With an established product and a foundation of existing operator relationships, Hi Auto’s next phase is defined by expansion. The company is no longer simply proving that the technology works; it is now focused on how quickly that technology can be deployed across brands that carry the most market weight.
The success of this strategy will depend on Chapman’s ability to convert pilot programs into system-wide mandates. In the franchised model, this often requires winning over the “influencer” franchisees who can sway the broader organization toward adoption.
As Hi Auto pushes for deeper penetration into the QSR market, the industry will be watching to see if the combination of high-level enterprise sales and ground-level operational experience can accelerate the transition to an AI-managed drive-thru.
The company is expected to provide further updates on its enterprise partnerships and adoption metrics as the current fiscal year progresses.
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