GLENDALE, CALIF. — Steve Levigne has joined Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar as vice-president of insights and analytics. In his new role, Mr. Levigne will be responsible for positioning Applebee’s for relevance and sustained growth, ensuring Applebee’s “remains guest-focused across all brand initiatives,” the Dine Brands, Inc. subsidiary said.

Mr. Levigne was most recently vice-president of U.S. strategy and insights for McDonald’s Corp. In this role, he was accountable for strategic planning, consumer insights, business analytics, guest satisfaction and industry tracking for all 14,000 U.S. McDonald’s restaurants. During Mr. Levigne’s 23-year career with McDonald’s, he was also vice-president of U.S. consumer and business insights, senior director of business research and group project manager of business research.

“Steve is a highly-regarded veteran of the restaurant industry and understands our challenges from a culinary, service, value and brand differentiation perspective,” said John Cywinski, president of Applebee’s. “Importantly, franchisee partnership is part of his DNA, and he'll be a terrific culture fit for the Applebee's team. I plan to partner with Steve across all strategic initiatives.”