Chipotle shares fell more than 10% on Tuesday after the company announced that Chief Executive Brian Niccol would step down as CEO on August 31. Starbucks.
Niccol began serving as Chipotle CEO in March 2018.
Chipotle’s board of directors named Chief Operating Officer Scott Boatwright as interim CEO. He has been with the company since 2017. The board also announced that Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung, who has announced his intention to retire, will remain with the company indefinitely and assist with the transition.
Mellody Hobson served as Starbucks board chairman but later stepped down to become lead independent director. “When I talked to him, I remember him saying, ‘I know what to do.'”
Chipotle’s same-store sales and traffic grew strongly, while other restaurants reported that consumers were scaling back on customer spending.
Chipotle reported second-quarter earnings in July that beat analysts’ expectations, with revenue of $2.97 billion. Net sales increased by 18.2% this quarter, and same-store sales increased by 11.1%.
Nicole helped lead Chipotle through a foodborne illness scandal and oversaw the restaurant chain during the pandemic.
Before taking over Chipotle, Niccol served as CEO of Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Yum Brands.
Kalinowski Equity Research CEO analyst Mark Kalinowski is cautious about CEO changes.
“While this is a bad thing for Chipotle in the short term, Mr. Nicol has been CEO there for over six years, so perhaps the opportunity to bring some fresh thinking to this well-respected company isn’t in the world. The worst thing is in the long run,” Kalinowski wrote in a note on Tuesday.
—CNBC’s Amelia Lucas and Robert Hum contributed to this report.
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