Burger King Americas President Chris Finazzo has left the chain, according to an SEC filing.
Parent company Restaurant Brands International did not give a reason for his departure. In the interim, he will be replaced by CMO Ellie Doty and COO Tom Curtis, who will report directly to RBI CEO José Cil.
Finazzo joined Burger King in May 2014 as the chain’s senior manager of sales planning and competitive intelligence. He then held roles as director of marketing intelligence, director of business development, head of development for North America, and head of marketing for North America. He landed the role as president of Americas in December 2017.
Ellie Doty has worked for the burger chain since June 2020 after serving as Chili’s vice president of marketing and culinary and then as its CMO. She also held several marketing positions with Yum! Brands. Curtis was announced as the new COO in March after a 35-year career with Domino’s as a franchisee, executive, and most recently executive vice president of U.S. operations and support.
The news comes a little more than a month after Burger King launched the Ch’King chicken sandwich nationwide across the U.S. The chain wasn’t quiet about it either. In a tweet, the brand announced that it would donate a portion of Ch’King sales to a LGBTQ+ advocacy group throughout June, which is Pride Month. While mentioning that donation, Burger King said it’s deal was available “even on Sundays,” taking a not-so-subtle shot at Chick-fil-A’s controversial history with the LGBTQ+ community.
Burger King’s same-store sales lifted 0.7 percent in Q1, or a decline of 3 percent on a two-year basis. Digital mixed 9 percent, an increase of 40 percent, year-over-year.