Grubhub CEO Adam DeWitt is stepping down after more than a decade at the delivery company, owner Just Eat Takeaway.com (JET) announced Monday.
He’ll be replaced by Howard Migdal, the CEO of Grubhub’s Canadian sister company, SkipTheDishes. Migdal has also been named JET’s EVP of North America.
DeWitt was with Grubhub for 11 years, most of which he spent as CFO. He guided the company through its 2014 IPO and then its sale to JET in June 2021. He was promoted to CEO that October, replacing founder Matt Maloney.
Dewitt said it would be hard to leave, “but it’s the right time for me.”
“I am incredibly proud of what this team has accomplished and will forever value the relationships I've forged here,” he said in a statement. “Grubhub is in great hands with Howard and the Grubhub leadership team, and I'm excited to watch the company continue to thrive.”
Migdal has significant food delivery experience, having founded Canada’s first national delivery service, GrubCanada, in 2008. Just Eat acquired the company in 2011 and later folded it into SkipTheDishes. Migdal became CEO of that division in November 2022.
“I am honored to take on the role leading our North America business and becoming the CEO of Grubhub,” Migdal said in a statement. “Grubhub is an incredible brand and has tremendous scale through its restaurant and delivery networks. I am excited to build on the foundation built by Adam and the team.”
Steve Puchala, senior vice president, growth and restaurant success for SkipTheDishes, was named interim CEO of SkipTheDishes and will report to Migdal.
Chicago-based Grubhub has had a rocky couple of years since it was acquired by Amsterdam-based JET for $7.3 billion. Less than a year later, JET said it was considering selling Grubhub amid calls from an activist investor to put the company on the market. That August, JET took a $3.1 billion writedown on Grubhub, blaming it on comparable stocks and rising interest rates.
Meanwhile, JET’s North American business was struggling. In 2022, orders fell 16% year over year in the U.S. and Canada and sales decreased 11% on a constant currency basis, and it appeared to be losing share to competitors DoorDash and Grubhub in the U.S. JET has blamed much of the company’s troubles on delivery fee caps in its key market of New York City.
JET’s bottom line, however, did better last year: Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization improved to 19 million euros, up from negative 350 million euros in 2021.
It said the increase came from all of the 20 countries where it operates, but that North America saw some of the biggest gains.
JET is continuing to explore a full or partial sale of Grubhub.
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