Burger King parent Restaurant Brands appoints former Domino’s Pizza chief as executive chairman

Burger King’s parent company, Restaurant Brands International, has hired the former chief executive officer of Domino’s Pizza to be its new executive chairman. The Canadian-American multinational fast food holding company said on Wednesday, Nov. 16, that Patrick Doyle will now lead RBI in its efforts to increase flat share prices and scale up digital sales.

According to Reuters, Doyle’s appointment is to take effect at once thus, his work as the new chairman at Restaurant Brands starts immediately. The former Domino’s Pizza CEO was said to be responsible for the big improvements in the food quality and digital ordering system at the pizza chain.

He has also helped with growing the brand’s comparable sales for 29 consecutive quarters. Moreover, when he took over Domino’s, its share price surged from $12 in 2010 to $271 when he vacated his CEO post in 2018.

The new Restaurant Brands chairman revealed in an interview that RBI’s co-chairman Daniel Schwartz and Alexandre Behring got the idea of hiring him when he dined with them for dinner last summer. It turned out that he has known them for more than a decade now.

Behring and Schwartz have stepped down as co-chairman, but they will remain on RBI’s board. They are now co-managing partners of 3G Capital Partners Ltd and still own a 29% stake in Restaurant Bands.

In any case, as he prepares for his new role at RBI, Doyle said he would be making rounds to visit the company’s fast-food chains - Burger King, Tim Hortons, Firehouse Subs, and Popeyes - to meet the franchisees as well as customers. He said this is one of his ways of knowing the company better. Doyle shared that he will focus on franchisee profitability and making the process of digital ordering easier for customers to keep them coming back often.

"I'm excited to work closely with Patrick and our leadership team to build the most loved restaurant brands in the world,” RBI’s CEO, Jose Cil, said in a press release. “This includes our intention to rapidly accelerate growth in the company and deliver on plans that result in exceptional service for our guests and excellent returns for our franchisees and for all shareholders."

Doyle further said, "I love the restaurant industry. Working closely with each of the brands' franchisees, with Jose, the whole RBI team, and the Board of Directors, I am confident we can create one of the most compelling growth stories in the industry."

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