Chipotle announced Monday that interim CEO Scott Boatwright will continue as the official chief executive.
The industry veteran served as COO for seven years before being named interim CEO in August. Prior to Chipotle, Boatwright spent 18 years with Arby’s Restaurant Group in various leadership positions, including SVP of operations.
He succeeds Brian Niccol, who is now CEO of Starbucks.
“It is an honor to serve as the CEO of this purpose-driven brand and I look forward to providing greater opportunities for our employees, generating value for our shareholders and Cultivating a Better World for our communities,” Boatwright said in a statement. “I am passionate about our menu and energized by our people, and believe that I, along with our esteemed bench of tenured leaders, will deliver on our priorities and achieve our long-term growth goals.”
READ MORE: Chipotle Keeps Focus on Growth and Throughput after Leadership Shift
Despite Chipotle’s leadership transition, the brand remains committed to its strategic goals: expanding to 7,000 North American locations, increasing AUV to over $4 million, and enhancing restaurant-level margins alongside international growth.
In the third quarter, Chipotle reported a 13 percent sales increase to $2.8 billion, driven by a 6 percent rise in same-store sales and a 3 percent uptick in transactions. In-restaurant sales surged by 80 percent compared to Q3 2023, and digital sales mixed 34 percent. The company opened 86 new restaurants, 73 of which feature a Chipotlane, bringing the total to 3,615 locations and achieving an AUV of $3.18 million.
To improve throughput and operational efficiency, Chipotle has focused on staffing the expo position—the employee who expedites order assembly and payment. Assigning the manager on duty to this role during peak times has increased the percentage of restaurants with an expo in place from just over 50 percent in Q2 to over 60 percent in Q3. This is key because restaurants with an expo position average five incremental entrées in their peak 15 minutes. Additionally, the company is addressing food prep timing to ensure employees can keep up with demand.
Technology should help with throughput. The fast casual is planning automation via Hyphen’s digital makeline—which can build bowls and salads while employees make burritos, tacos, and quesadillas—and the Autocado, a robot that cuts, cores, and scoops avocados. These features were installed in their first restaurants for testing during Q3.
Chipotle applauded Boatwright’s efforts in improving the overall guest experience, leading the integration of new technology into restaurant, building a culture aligned with the fast casual’s values, and achieving favorable retention rates.
“We conducted a thorough and rigorous external search process that confirmed Scott is absolutely the best person to lead the next stage of growth at Chipotle,” chairman Scott Maw said in a statement. “Today’s announcement is an affirmation of both Scott’s leadership capability and our internal succession planning process. The board overwhelmingly believes Scott will deliver on the key strategies in place and position the company for continued success.”
