Shake Shack announced Monday that Tara Comonte, president and chief financial officer for the last four years, will depart the company to become CEO of a private company outside of the restaurant industry.
Comonte, who joined Shake Shack in 2017, will remain in her current role through May 7, 2021 to oversee the company’s fiscal first quarter 2021 reporting period and ensure a thorough transition of her responsibilities. The company is in the process of retaining a firm to manage the search for a new Chief Financial Officer, led by a sub-committee of the Board of Directors. Comonte’s responsibilities will be transitioned to other existing members of the Shake Shack leadership team until such time as the search is concluded.
Randy Garutti, CEO of Shake Shack says, “On behalf of our Board and our entire team, I want to thank Tara for her many contributions over the past four years. I’m thrilled to see her take on a CEO role and our Shack team will be rooting for her every success. She leaves the company with an incredibly strong team and foundation that is well positioned for our accelerated growth ahead. We’re beginning to exit the pandemic, returning to a robust development schedule, leveraging our broad array of new formats and digital channels and continuing to build this beloved global brand.”
Comonte adds, “It has been a huge honor to help lead this incredible brand through such a transformational period of growth. Shake Shack is a very special place, full of passionate, high-performing, talented leaders, each of whom I will sincerely miss. I’m excited to watch their success and growth continue around the world for many years to come and will remain one of their biggest fans. I would like to thank everyone at Shake Shack for the last wonderful four years, a time I will forever treasure. I wish everyone in the company every success.”