Burger King Corp. (NYSE:BKC) today announced senior leadership appointments in four key departments as the company positions itself to meet aggressive global growth targets in fiscal 2008.
Marketing
Mike Kappitt has been named senior vice president, global business intelligence and strategy. He will report to Russ Klein, president, global marketing, strategy and innovation. Kappitt served most recently as vice president of consumer insights and performance analysis for Burger King Corp. In this role, Kappitt supported development of new products, promotions, advertising, and strategic platforms for the BURGER KING® core consumer. In his new role, Kappitt will oversee consumer insights and performance analytics globally, as well as the trade area analytics that inform development decisions. He will also retain his responsibilities for global sales forecasting, and for pricing decisions for new and existing products.
Development
Jonathan Fitzpatrick has been promoted to senior vice president, development and franchising, reporting to Chuck Fallon, president, North America. In his new role, Fitzpatrick will be responsible for strengthening restaurant development and remodels, real estate management, construction, franchising and market planning. Fitzpatrick spent the last two years as vice president of information technology, introducing and implementing new systems worldwide, while working alongside company leaders and franchisees.
Operations
John Reckert assumes the role of senior vice president, global operations research and development (R&D), reporting to Jim Hyatt, executive vice president and chief global operations officer. In his most recent position, Reckert was responsible for the rollout of critical HAVE IT YOUR WAY® technology, such as the conversion of BURGER KING® company restaurants to new flexible batch broilers. These broilers enable the company to offer a broader menu selection while reducing the operational costs associated with flame broiled cooking. He also helped complete the rollout to company restaurants of the Kitchen Minder, an automated product management system designed to measure crew performance. Reckert has supported recent quality-assurance initiatives, including a new specifications system that collects a range of product audit and distribution information, and makes it accessible through the Internet to key managers.
Finance
Chris Anderson has been promoted to senior vice president of finance, reporting to Ben Wells, executive vice president, chief financial officer. Anderson will continue managing the company’s consolidation, external reporting and USA Accounting groups. His responsibilities have expanded to include oversight of risk management, franchise finance and credit & collections.
“Mike, Jonathan, John and Chris have each in their own way been vital to the success of the BURGER KING® brand,” said CEO John Chidsey. “As we look to rapidly increase our global footprint this year, I am confident that they are the right people to help drive the company’s growth and help position us for continued success.”
