Share

Wendy’s CEO to retire in May

Wendy’s Co. Chief Executive Officer Emil Brolick will step down from running the third-largest USA burger chain next year, handing the reins to Chief Financial Officer Todd Penegor. After all, an outsider may want to make big changes.

Advertisement

“Since returning to Wendy’s four years ago, Emil Brolick has guided The Wendy’s Company to a path of profitable and sustainable growth, while transforming one of America’s most iconic brands”, said Nelson Peltz of investment firm Trian Fund Management LP, chairman of Wendy’s board of directors. A few 957 were owned and operated by the company at that time.

Under his tenure, the company also has remodeled its restaurants to be more modern and embarked on a plan to sell most of its company-owned restaurants to franchisees.

That effort took place under Brolick’s leadership.

Wendy’s is down 19% for the past three months. In 2017, the first full year after it expects to complete its restaurant sales, 80 percent of Wendy’s earnings will come from franchisees’ royalty and rental fees.

At Wendy’s, Mr. Penegor has helped lead such growth initiatives as restaurant reimaging and development, refranchising in the United States and Canada to accelerate expansion, whole business securitization and several share repurchasing transactions. Penegor received his bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA in finance from Michigan State University.

I feel honored to have been chosen as a steward of Dave Thomas’ great legacy for the Wendy’s family, and I could not be more confident in Todd Penegor as the President and CEO of The Wendy’s Company. Wendy’s has made many changes over the past decade.

Brolick had previously worked for Wendy’s for 12 years in a number of roles including senior vice president of new product marketing, research and strategic planning.

Advertisement

At $8.68 after the news, Wendy’s has a 52-week range of $7.61 to $11.71 and a consensus analyst target of about $11.50.

Wendys Wendy's fastfood