Dive Brief:

• Wendy’s tapped CFO Ken Cook to serve as interim CEO for the restaurant chain after CEO and President Kirk Tanner announced he will depart after a year and a half in the top seat, according to a Tuesday press release. 
• Tanner is departing to become president and CEO of Hershey, effective July 18, accordign to the release. The board of directors has begun a search for a permanent CEO. 
• Tanner has been with Wendy’s since February 2024 and has overseen various strategies to boost its digital channels, including accelerating the deployment of digital menu boards and drive-thru automation at hundreds of stores. Despite such measures, Wendy’s same-store sales have stagnated in recent quarters and fell 2.8% in Q1 2025.

Dive Insight:

Cook joined the chain as CFO in December 2024 and will continue in that role while he serves in his interim position. He has “played a major role in developing Wendy’s long-term growth strategy,” the company said. 

That strategy hinges on a combination of retrenchment and unit growth. Recently, Wendy’s closed 140 underperforming restaurants during Q4 2024. The company also continues to develop new stores globally and opened hundreds of new units last year, offsetting the closures. The chain said in March that it plans to open 1,000 units within three years through a combination of domestic and international development. 

“Our senior leadership team has established a very clear strategic blueprint for growth and is already beginning to execute on this strategy,” Art Winkleblack, Wendy’s chairman of the board, said in a statement. 

Prior to Wendy’s, Cook spent two decades at United Parcel Service in various leadership roles, including a period as head of financial planning and analysis. He also served as CFO for the U.S. domestic segment of UPS. 

In addition to Cook’s appointment, the chain said it elected Bradley Peltz to serve as director, replacing Matthew Peltz, who resigned from the board on Tuesday. Bradley Peltz is the managing director of Yellow Cab Holdings, a Wendy’s franchisee in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.