Chipotle names Scott Boatwright as CEO
Chipotle Mexican Grill has found its replacement for Brian Niccol.
In a move that was not unexpected, the fast-casual restaurant giant appointed Scott Boatwright as CEO and a member of the board, effective immediately. The seven-year Chipotle veteran was appointed to the position on an interim basis in August, after chief executive Niccol unexpectedly announced he was departing to take the reins at Starbucks. (Niccol had served as Chipotle's chief since 2018 and as chairman since 2020.)
Boatwright joined Chipotle in 2017, as COO. Before that, he spent 18 years with Arby's Restaurant Group in various leadership positions, lastly as senior vice president of operations managing over 1,700 locations across the U.S.
In a statement, Chipotle said that Boatwright has been a driving force for improving the company's overall guest experience. In addition to contributing to the strategy and growth of the business, he led the integration of new technology into restaurants, built a strong culture aligned to the organization's values and achieved industry-leading retention rates yielding impressive outcomes and improvements in throughput.
"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,” said Scott Maw, chairman, Chipotle’s board of directors. “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."
William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia called Boatwright "by far the most logical choice, given his instrumental role in leading Chipotle’s efforts to improve operations, integrate new technology, reduce employee turnover, and bolster customer satisfaction."
"With former longtime CFO Jack Hartung remaining at Chipotle as president of strategy, finance, and supply chain on an indefinite basis and Adam Rymer (another longtime Chipotle veteran) in place as CFO, we remain confident in Chipotle’s prospects given the depth of its management bench, with Monday's announcement providing additional clarity on the continuity of the company's strategy," she wrote in a note.
Boatwright currently serves on the board of directors of Academy Sports and Outdoors, and is a member of the National Restaurant Association's Fast Casual Industry Council.
"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," said Boatwright. "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 Mexican Grill has 3,600 restaurants as of Sept. 30, 2024 in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Kuwait, and it is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants in North America and Europe.
