Chipotle on Monday made it official: Scott Boatwright will drop “interim” from his title to become the fast-casual chain’s CEO.
Boatwright has served as interim CEO since August, when former CEO Brian Niccol announced his move to the helm at Starbucks. Boatwright at the time was Chipotle’s chief operating officer.
The move comes as no surprise. Boatwright has been seen as a likely candidate for the CEO job. He has been key in Chipotle’s growth over the past seven years and through the pandemic, leading the integration of technology, building a culture aligned to the chain’s values, achieving industry-leading retention rates and improving throughput, the company said. Boatwright also joins Chipotle’s board.
Scott Maw, chairman of Chipotle’s board, said in a statement, “We conducted a thorough and rigorous external search process that confirmed Scott is absolutely the best person to lead the next stage of growth at Chipotle. Today’s announcement is an affirmation of both Scott’s leadership capability and our internal succession planning process. The board overwhelmingly believes Scott will deliver on the key strategies in place and position the company for continued success.”
Scott Boatwright. |Photo courtesy of Chipotle
Boatwright joined Chipotle in 2017 as chief restaurant officer. At the time, he was the first outside executive hire since the chain went public in 2006.
An operations specialist, he joined the chain at a time of recovery from two years of turmoil after a foodborne illness outbreak that began in 2015 and later led to the departure of founder and then-CEO Steve Ells. Niccol replaced Ells in the CEO role in 2020.
Before joining Chipotle, Boatwright had spent 18 years with Arby’s Restaurant Group in various leadership roles, most recent as senior vice president of operations, responsible for more than 1,700 Arby’s.
Chipotle has more than 3,600 units and the chain has a goal of reaching 7,000 restaurants across North America.
And Boatwright sees opportunities for spreading Chipotle around the world.
In his first earnings report after Niccol’s departure, Boatwright was asked what he would like to be known for if chosen to be Chipotle’s permanent CEO.
Boatwright said he would like to push Chipotle to be more of an iconic global brand, saying the chain is open to more international franchise partnerships, like the one in the Middle East with Alshaya Group, which has resulted in Chipotle’s move into Kuwait and Dubai.
Chipotle, meanwhile, is one of the fast-casual chains showing strength at a time when both quick-service and casual-dining chains are struggling to attract inflation-weary diners. For the third quarter, Chipotle’s same store sales increased 6%, including a 3.3% increase in transactions.
Boatwright in a statement said, “It is an honor to serve as the CEO of this purpose-driven brand and I look forward to providing greater opportunities for our employees, generating value for our shareholders and Cultivating a Better World for our communities. I am passionate about our menu and energized by our people, and believe that I, along with our esteemed bench of tenured leaders, will deliver on our priorities and achieve our long-term growth goals.”
Chipotle did not say in the announcement who might replace Boatwright in the COO role.
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