Burger King president leaves as company lags behind rivals

Burger King was belatedly reported to have lost its president, Chris Finazzo. He was said to have left the company a while ago.

The departure of Burger King America’s president was only revealed through a federal filing at the Securities and Exchange Commission that was seen on Tuesday, July 6. In any case, the reason for his exit was not known, and there was no mention of it in the filing as well.

Burger King under Finazzo’s leadership

According to Restaurant Business Online, Chris Finazzo has been working for Burger King for more than seven years before his departure. His main work was managing the fast-food chain’s domestic operations, and he has been doing this since 2017.

Prior to becoming the president at Burger King, he was said to have worked in several other positions within the company. And while it was not indicated why he is leaving, business observers suggested that it may have something to do with how the company is doing in the market.

Based on the report, Chis Finazzo may have quit after finding himself losing ground against two of Burger King’s closest rivals which are Wendy’s and McDonald’s. It was said that BK has been lagging behind the two restaurants in terms of sales. The market growth of the competitors was also impressive, while BK is falling behind in the U.S.

The executives who will replace the ex-president

In any case, Burger King already appointed interim successors as Chris Finazzo vacates his office as president in the company’s American unit. Chief marketing officer Ellie Doty and chief operating officer Tom Curtis will now temporarily manage the company’s business in Canada and the U.S.

Doty and Curtis will be reporting directly to Burger King's chief executive officer, Jose Cil. The former has been with the company for just a year and previously worked at Chili’s while the latter joined BK just months ago, but he has been in the business for 35 years already, as Domino’s franchisee and executive in global operations.

“Ellie Doty joined the company one year ago, bringing extensive industry experience in marketing and sales from her roles at Chili’s and YUM,” the company said in the filing. “Tom Curtis joined the company several months ago after 35 years as a franchisee, executive and most recently executive vice president, US Operations and Global Operations Support at Dominos.”