Burger King Corp. CEO and Chairman Greg Brenneman has resigned from the company in advance of the No. 2 QSR’s initial public offering to return to his private equity firm. The Miami-based company has named John Chidsey, 43, Burger King’s president and CFO as its new CEO, effective immediately.
Brenneman, who joined Burger King in August 2004 to boost sales for the fast-food chain, will return to his private equity firm TurnWorks, Inc., Houston, TX, to pursue business turnarounds, the company said.
In addition, Burger King promoted Brian Swette, an independent director, as non-executive chairman and Ben Wells, 52, the company’s senior VP president and treasurer, to CFO and treasurer.
The management changes come in the midst of the company’s preparation for its IPO. Burger King said it would file with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering in February (Xtra, Feb. 2).
Brenneman leaves Burger King after eight consecutive quarters of sales growth following years of slumping sales. He plans to work with the Burger King’s board of directors as a consultant during the transition, the company said.
“As the company enters this important next phase, the board and I discussed the commitment necessary for any CEO in a public environment and my career and family goals,” Brenneman said in a statement. “As a result, together we decided that the best time to transition leadership was prior to Burger King’s initial public offering.”
Chidsey joined Burger King in March 2004 as North American president. Previously, he worked as chairman and CEO for two Cendant corporate divisions—the vehicle service division (Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car systems) and the financial services division (Jackson Hewitt and PHH). Before that, Chisney was the CFO of Pepsi-Cola Eastern Europe and the CFO of PepsiCo World Trading Co., Inc.
Brenneman’s departure comes as no surprise to some. Brenneman, who was the ninth CEO to leave the company over a 15-year-period, fulfilled the role he was assigned.
“The timing isn’t suspect,” said Scott Hume, executive managing editor of Restaurants & Institutions magazine, Oak Brook IL. “Brenneman was in there to get the company in shape for an IPO. That was really his mandate.”
“To have any kind of showing with an IPO you’ve got to show the chain is back on its financial feet,” he added. “Now that’s under way, it’s not at all surprising Brenneman is saying, ‘OK, thanks. I want to go back to what I was doing before.'”
Meantime, Chidsey will have a larger role to play as Burger King’s new CEO, including boosting the company’s competitive edge against No. 1 rival McDonald’s and smoothing relationships with franchisees, Hume said.
“The ‘to do’ list for the new CEO is even longer than what Brenneman had,” Hume said. “The new CEO has really got to push hard to revitalize that brand.”
Over the last year, Burger King has boosted its marketing efforts with its iconic King figure in TV spots, a value menu and new breakfast products, including the enormous omelet sandwich. This week, Burger King added to new breakfast items to its menu—the French Toast sandwich and Cheesy Tots.
Burger King Holdings, Inc., is owned by a private equity group made up of Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs Funds. The chain operates more than 11,100 restaurants in more than 65 countries.
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