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A boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who proposed the United Kingdom might have reached peak pizza while broadening the franchise into chicken products has been ousted after tensions with its governing body.

Executive Transition

Andrew Rennie is leaving after a brief tenure in leadership, and will be replaced on an interim basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while the pizza giant looks for a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who worked for Domino's for more than two decades, had sought to shift the UK's leading pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, remarking earlier this month there was not “huge potential” left in the British pizza industry. He noted chicken was the most rapidly expanding food category in the international market.

Governance Tensions

It is understood that there was tension between the CEO and the board over his focus and direction, although the company's official statement said he was departing “by mutual agreement”.

Recent Product Launch

In the autumn, the chain introduced its Chick 'N' Dip offering – which the former chief referred to as a “bold new chapter” for the organization – and is piloting it in 210 outlets in the North West region and the province.

While the business is still planning to expand it across its extensive network in 2026 as scheduled, it regards chicken products as complementary to its main pizza offerings.

Board Comment

The Domino's chair, the company chair, commented: “The board believes that there are a range of possibilities to enhance value and value creation in the main pizza segment. We are concentrating on selecting the ideal CEO to oversee the disciplined execution of that development approach.”

Industry Challenges

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has millions of users in the UK and Ireland, said orders declined by 1.5% in the latest quarter. In August, it cautioned that the food delivery sector had “become tougher” as it attributed weaker consumer confidence in the run-up to the budget and higher payroll outlays for disappointing revenue and a significant fall in half-year profits.

Rival chains are also facing challenges. Another major chain revealed the closure of 68 restaurants a last month, after the firm behind its outlets fell into administration.

Health Efforts

Trying to keep up with customer preferences towards balanced diets, Domino's has rolled out light items, such as its Thin & Crispy line of pizzas below 400 kcal as well as meat-free and gluten-free options. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 calories. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171 kcal, while a small has 909 calories.

Acting Management

The interim chief has been with Domino's since 2021, and had a background at the betting firm a well-known operator. It is believed that she does not want to occupy the CEO position permanently.

She commented: “Our team has a number of active expansion and performance initiatives that we will be concentrating on implementing at pace.”

She added these comprised additional efforts on the organization's supply chain and menu innovation, and its rewards program.

The pizza chain is also lacking a full-time CFO until the spring, when Andy Andrea joins from the Irish cider and beer maker a well-known firm. Until then, Snow serves as interim finance chief.