Burger King announced today that its CEO, Greg Brenneman, has resigned (AP article here). He will be replaced by BK’s CFO. According to the article:
When asked on a conference call about the changes at the top, Chidsey said: “It portends no bad news. Everything is fine with the company.” He and Brenneman declined to get into specifics because of Securities and Exchange Commission regulations limiting what a company can say before an IPO.
[ed.–where was the concern for SEC regulations when BK was gun jumping (see here)?]
Given the horrible timing, there is obviously more to it. And I guess this risk factor from BKs preliminary prospectus will need some revising:
Loss of key management personnel or our inability to attract and retain new qualified personnel could hurt our business and inhibit our ability to operate and grow successfully.
The success of our business to date has been, and our continuing success will be, dependent to a large degree on the continued services of our executive officers, including our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Greg Brenneman; President and Chief Financial Officer, John Chidsey; Chief Marketing Officer, Russell Klein; Chief Operations Officer, Jim Hyatt; and other key personnel who have extensive experience in the franchising industry, the food industry and in turning around under-performing companies. If we lost the services of any of these key personnel and fail to manage a smooth transition to new personnel, our business would suffer. (emphasis added).
The article notes that the IPO is expected to occur by June 30.
