WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 3, 2026--
CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE: CAVA), the category-defining Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant brand that brings heart, health, and humanity to food, today announced the appointment of Amiee Bayer-Thomas, Chief Retail Officer of Ulta Beauty, Inc., to its Board of Directors, effective July 29.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260729376915/en/
“Amiee is a seasoned operator whose leadership has always started with the people closest to the guest,” said Brett Schulman, Co-Founder and CEO of CAVA. “Having grown up in retail, she brings a grounded understanding of the store, the frontline team member and the guest. Her experience leading complex national operations, developing talent and scaling for growth will be invaluable as CAVA continues expanding. Just as importantly, her values-based approach and commitment to building strong cultures align deeply with who we are. We are thrilled to welcome Amiee to the CAVA table.”
Bayer-Thomas has more than three decades of leadership experience across specialty and department-store retail. As Chief Retail Officer of Ulta Beauty, she is responsible for store and services operations across more than 1,500 stores and over 60,000 associates, as well as real estate growth and development, store design and loss prevention.
Since joining Ulta Beauty in 2016, Bayer-Thomas has held roles of increasing responsibility, including Chief Store Operations Officer and Chief Supply Chain Officer. Her end-to-end operating experience spans the supply chain through the selling floor, with a focus on operational excellence, continuous improvement, cost discipline and developing high-performing teams. She has also led business continuity and operational response across thousands of locations during periods of significant disruption.
“CAVA has built a category-defining brand by pairing bold, vibrant food with a deeply human approach to hospitality,” said Bayer-Thomas. “I have long admired the company’s commitment to its team members, guests and communities, and I am honored to join the Board at such an exciting stage of growth. I look forward to working with the leadership team and my fellow directors to help CAVA scale its mission and bring the Mediterranean way to more people across the country.”
Prior to Ulta Beauty, Bayer-Thomas held leadership positions at JCPenney and Limited Brands across store operations, field leadership and merchandising. She serves on the Board of Directors of YWCA Metropolitan Chicago and previously served on the advisory board of Shoptalk. Bayer-Thomas holds a Bachelor of Arts in Management from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.
About CAVA
CAVA is the category-defining Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant brand bringing together bold, healthful flavors and ingredients at scale. A founder-led company, CAVA is guided by the belief that food should taste as good as it makes you feel, and that great meals and warm Mediterranean hospitality go hand in hand. Across more than 450 restaurants in 29 states and Washington, D.C., guests can choose from an abundant selection of chef-curated or build your own bowls and pitas to meet their dietary and taste preferences. There are more than 17 billion possible ingredient combinations, featuring a variety of proteins, vegetables, signature dips such as Crazy Feta®, house-made beverages, and more. Guided by its mission to bring heart, health, and humanity to food, CAVA provides meaningful career opportunities for more than 15,000 team members and continues to invest in its people and communities. Learn more at cava.com.
Amiee Bayer-Thomas
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Republican senators who had threatened to block acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation to lead the Justice Department said Monday that they will support his nomination, ending an impasse over plans to create a fund to compensate allies of President Donald Trump.
The endorsement from Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis paves the way for the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance Blanche's nomination on Tuesday following a deal to formally rescind the $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund" created as part of the settlement of Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.
Cornyn and Tillis had refused to back Blanche's bid for the permanent post without written confirmation killing the fund meant to compensate people who believe they were unfairly prosecuted by the Justice Department. The order, issued by Blanche late Sunday, came after days of negotiations between the Justice Department and the Republican senators who are leaving Capitol Hill when their terms end in January.
“We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon," Cornyn, of Texas, and Tillis, of North Carolina, said in a statement.
Blanche has repeatedly said that the Justice Department was scrapping the fund, which sparked bipartisan outcry over the possibility that violent rioters who attacked police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, could be considered for payments. But skeptical lawmakers had said they were concerned that could be revived without a commitment in writing, especially because Trump has continued to defend the idea.
Blanche wrote in his order late Sunday that the department was confirming "beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.”
Since the settlement of the president's lawsuit against the IRS was announced, “No Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid,” the order says. “This order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.”
Cornyn and Tillis had also pressed the Justice Department to limit the scope of a separate piece of the settlement that provided broad immunity for Trump and members of his family from tax audits. Under the deal, the Justice Department clarified in writing that the tax audit immunity agreement “applies by its terms only retroactively” to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings.
Blanche’s nomination was thrown into doubt last week after the Judiciary Committee postponed a vote that had been scheduled for Thursday morning as Tillis and Cornyn said they needed more from the administration before they could provide the necessary votes.
After the Thursday vote was delayed, Trump said in a social media post that he might pull Blanche’s nomination and resubmit it after Cornyn and Tillis leave office next year. And on Saturday the president threatened to push forward with the fund if the two Republicans blocked Blanche's nomination.
On Sunday evening, Trump said that people who had faced charges from the Jan. 6, attack on the Capitol and could have benefited from the fund had “their lives destroyed.”
“This would be a reimbursement for the pain that they suffered,” Trump said. “A lot of people like it.”
Blanche, who served as Trump’s defense lawyer in his criminal cases, entered the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general. He was elevated to the top post after Pam Bondi was fired in April by Trump, who was frustrated by her failure to successfully prosecute his political enemies.
Though Blanche insisted he wasn’t auditioning for the permanent job, he has moved quickly since taking the reins of the department to promote the Trump administration’s agenda and accelerate investigations into the president’s perceived foes.
FILE - Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
