Wendy’s on Tuesday said that CEO Kirk Tanner is resigning to take the chief executive job with The Hershey Company.
The Dublin, Ohio-based chain named CFO Ken Cook interim chief executive while the company searches for a permanent replacement.
Tanner’s departure will be effective July 18.
The move comes just about 18 months after Tanner, a former executive with PepsiCo, was hired to lead the 7,000-unit chain. His tenure began with a controversy surrounding comments he made on an earnings call saying the company planned to institute dynamic pricing.
Since then, Wendy’s has dealt with an economy that has turned unfriendly to fast-food chains, particularly those that specialize in burgers. Same-store sales declined 2.8% in the first quarter. Wendy’s stock, meanwhile, is down 31% so far this year.
In taking the position with Hershey’s, Tanner returns to the consumer-packaged goods business. “We understand Kirk’s decision to return to the consumer-packaged goods industry and wish him well in leading Hershey,” Wendy’s Chairman Art Winkleblack said in a statement.
Cook, meanwhile, is being elevated to the top job, albeit on an interim basis, just six months after he was named CFO. He had spent 20 years at the United Parcel Service, most recently as head of financial planning.
Wendy’s said that Cook has “played a major role in developing Wendy’s long-term growth strategy.”
“Our senior leadership team has established a very clear strategic blueprint for growth and is already beginning to execute on this strategy,” Winkleblack said, saying he has “the utmost confidence in him and the senior leadership team to lead the company and continue to execute on our growth plan.”
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