Papa John's founder John Schnatter has resigned as chairman of the board after admitting and apologizing for using the N-word during a May conference call.
Shares of the pizza chain surged 11 percent Thursday morning — recovering all of the $96.2 million, and then some, in market value the company lost after Schnatter's comments were reported by Forbes the day before.
Papa John's said in a statement late Wednesday night that it will appoint a new chairman in the coming weeks. Olivia Kirtley, the board's lead independent director, will run the board until a permanent replacement is found.