Restaurant Brands International Inc. announced its new executive leadership team and Board of Directors. The new leadership team is comprised of senior executives from the Tim Hortons and Burger King brands, with decades of combined restaurant industry experience.
As previously announced, Daniel Schwartzwas appointed CEO of Restaurant Brands International. Schwartz is leading the company's day-to-day business and is responsible for the overall business strategy. The following executives have been appointed to the Restaurant Brands International leadership team:
· Elías Díaz Sesé, president of Tim Hortons Brand
· José Cil, president of Burger King Brand
· Scott Bonikowsky, chief communication and corporate affairs officer
· Heitor Gonçalves, chief people and information officer
· Jill Granat, general counsel and corporate secretary
· Josh Kobza, chief financial officer
· Cara Piggot, senior vice president of supply chain
"I am honored to have been chosen to lead Restaurant Brands International and its two iconic brands," Schwartz says. "We have assembled a world-class leadership team that shares a passion for our brands and is committed to successfully growing the company into the world's leading global restaurant business."
Additionally, the company announced leadership teams for both the Tim Hortons and Burger King brands.
Elías Díaz Sesé, president of the Tim Hortons brand, will lead the day-to-day operations of the brand. A results-driven leader with more than 12 years experience in the global quick-service restaurant industry, Díaz Sesé was most recently president of Burger King Asia Pacific, where he was responsible for leading the brand's aggressive growth strategy in the region, including: tripling the brand's annual rate of restaurant growth in the region; nine consecutive quarters of positive same store sales growth; and successful entry into multiple high-growth markets, including China and India. He and his family will be relocating to Oakville, Ontario, from Singapore.
Díaz Sesé will be supported by a seasoned team of Tim Hortons executives who have a strong track record of delivering results for the brand. David Clanachanhas been appointed president and chief operating officer of Tim Hortons Canada. Clanachan is a veteran foodservice executive with more than three decades of experience, and he has held a wide-range of key executive leadership roles within the organization. Mike Meilleurwas appointed president of Tim Hortons U.S. Meilleur has been with Tim Hortons for 20 years and has led the transformation of the U.S. business since 2012.
In addition, the following key executive appointments have been made:
· Peter Nowlan,chief marketing officer
· Tammy Sadinsky Martin, senior vice president of retail
· Felipe Athayde, executive vice president of U.S. Development
· Sami Siddiqui, executive vice president of finance
José Cil,president of the Burger King brand, most recently oversaw the brand's unprecedented expansion in Europe, Middle East, and Africa as president of Burger King EMEA, recording 15 consecutive quarters of positive same-store sales and nearly tripling the region's profits in the past four years while opening 1,200 restaurants in that period. Under his leadership, Burger King EMEA has added more than $2 billion in system sales. After more than 14 years with the brand, Cil and his family will be relocating back to his hometown of Miami, Florida, from Zug, Switzerland.
Cil will be supported by the following executive team:
· Alex Macedo, president of Burger KingNorth America
· Bruno Lino, president of Burger King Europe, Middle East, and Africa
· David Shear, president of Burger King Asia Pacific
· José Dias, president of Burger King Latin America and the Caribbean
· Axel Schwan, global chief marketing officer
· Rodrigo Musiello, executive vice president of operations
· Paulo Barbosa, executive vice president of finance
As previously announced, the Board of Directors of Restaurant Brands International will include eight Burger King Worldwide Inc. directors and three directors appointed by Tim Hortons. Alex Behring will lead the Board as executive chairman and director, along with the following directors: Marc Caira, vice chairman; Martin E. Franklin; Paul J. Fribourg; John Lederer; Tom Milroy; Alan Parker; Daniel Schwartz; Roberto Moses Thompson Motta; Alexandre Van Damme; andCarlos Alberto da Veiga Sicupira.
Restaurant Brands International begins trading today on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol QSR. Units of Restaurant Brands International Limited Partnership are expected to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol QSP.