UPDATE: This story has been updated with a comment from Denny's.
Denny’s CEO Kelli Valade is leaving for a new job less than a week after the restaurant chain was sold to a group including private-equity firm TriArtisan Capital Advisors and franchisee Yadav Enterprises.
Valade on Thursday was named the new CEO and president of Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF), a nonprofit that advocates for female leadership in the restaurant industry.
Denny's said that TriArtisan CEO Rohit Manocha and Yadav CEO Anil Yadav will oversee the executive team while the company looks for a new leader. It will consider both external and internal candidates, the company said.
Kelli Valade. | Photo courtesy of Women's Foodservice Forum
Valade had been with the 1,400-unit diner chain since 2022. She helped lead the brand through the first stages of a turnaround plan and then through a sale process that unfolded quickly last year.
Before that, she spent a brief stint as CEO of Red Lobster. She was previously the CEO of data firm Black Box Intelligence and COO and president of Chili’s.
Valade has been on the WFF board since 2018 and now takes the reins at the Dallas-based group, which hosts an annual leadership conference. She replaces Therese Gearheart, who announced her retirement last year after six years at the helm of WFF.
“It is an honor to lead WFF—an organization that has played a significant role in my own professional journey and supports our industry in creating work environments where all team members can thrive,” Valade said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the exceptional WFF team and our volunteer Board of Directors, comprised of influential leaders from across the industry, to further strengthen our impact on individual careers and enhance the value WFF delivers to its supporting partner companies.”
Denny’s completed its $620 million sale to TriAristan, franchisee Yadav Enterprises and Treville Capital last Friday, making it a privately held company for the first time in nearly 30 years. There was no indication that Valade was on her way out. In a statement that day, Valade said she and the team were “[looking] forward to continuing to serve and delight guests across the nation.”
Manocha echoed those comments, saying “we look forward to working with Kelli and the rest of the Denny’s team and franchisees to provide resources and support the company’s long-term strategic growth plans.”
However, it is not unusual for leadership to change when a company changes hands.
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