TGI Fridays’ CEO steps down

fridays logo

TGI Fridays’ CEO Nick Shepherd will resign from his role in October, the casual-dining company said Thursday.

Shepherd, who has served as CEO since 2009, recently notified the board that he would be stepping down, citing that the time was right to “pass the torch.”

He will have an active role in transitioning the company to new leadership and plans to work closely with Chairman of the Board John Antioco, who will come on board as interim CEO if a replacement is not identified by mid-October, the company said.

The board has launched a search for Shepherd’s successor, led by Fridays’ majority shareholder Sentinel Capital Partners.

"Nick led the transformation of Fridays into a dynamic, globally relevant brand with a bright future and a strong platform for growth," Antioco said in a statement. "We would like to formally recognize Nick for his outstanding and passionate leadership of the business. While we hate to see Nick leave, we are extremely confident that the iconic Fridays brand and significant growth prospects will attract a highly-capable successor."

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Trending

More from our partners