Restaurant Brands New Zealand has announced that its group chief executive officer Russel Creedy and chief financial officer Grant Ellis will be retiring in 2023.
The company, which operates KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl’s Jr and Taco Bell franchises, told the NZX this morning that Creedy would be retiring at the end of March next year and Ellis at the end of May.
Chairman José Parés said Creedy and Ellis had made an “enormous contribution” with their leadership and expertise to the company’s growth and transformation over the more than 20 years they’d spent with the company.
“It’s with a sense of sadness and great appreciation for their long history with our company that I received the news that both Russel and Grant have decided to retire from Restaurant Brands,” he said.
Parés said Creedy and Ellis had played a key role in Restaurant Brands’ milestone of achieving more than $1 billion in sales during the 2021 financial period.
Creedy and Ellis will continue to be directly involved in the business until their retirement, Parés said, to ensure a smooth transition.
Following his retirement, Ellis will serve as an advisor to the RBD’s chair and new CFO, while Creedy will serve as a special advisor to Finaccess Capital and its subsidiaries, the majority shareholder of RBD.
Restaurant Brands operates 359 KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Carl’s Jr stores in NZ, Australia, California, and Hawaii, with 11,000 employees. It’s also the master franchisor of 101 Pizza Hut stores across NZ.
The company reported a weaker first-half profit back in August due to significant global inflationary pressures eating into the company’s margins.
Net profit for the six months to June 30 was $15.3 million, falling 55% – or $19.2m – from $43.5m in the same period last year.
Restaurant Brands was down 0.7% to $8.15 in early morning trading.
