🔗 Share this article

The chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who proposed the UK might have reached pizza saturation while diversifying the company into poultry items has been replaced after conflicts with its board.

Leadership Shake-Up

The former CEO is exiting after only 24 months in the top role, and will be replaced on an interim basis by the organization's operations head, Frampton, while Domino's looks for a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who served at the company for over 20 years, had sought to redirect Britain's biggest pizza delivery company towards poultry-based products, commenting in a recent interview there was not “huge potential” left in the UK's pizza market. He noted chicken was the most rapidly expanding food category in the globe.

Governance Friction

It is understood that there was friction between the CEO and the board over his focus and management style, although Domino's announcement said he was departing “by mutual agreement”.

New Brand Launch

In the autumn, the chain launched its poultry brand – which Rennie referred to as a “major strategic shift” for the company – and is piloting it in over 200 locations in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the business is still going to roll it out across its almost 1,400 stores in 2026 as planned, it considers chicken products as an addition to its core pizza business.

Leadership Statement

The Domino's chair, the company chair, commented: “Directors think that there are a series of prospects to enhance value and performance improvement in our primary operations. We are focused on identifying the suitable leader to lead the systematic rollout of that growth strategy.”

Market Difficulties

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has millions of users in the UK and Ireland, said transactions dipped by 1.5 percent in the third quarter. In August, it alerted that the takeaway market had “intensified” as it blamed reduced spending in the run-up to the government announcement and rising wage costs for disappointing revenue and a 15 percent decline in interim earnings.

Competitors are also struggling. Another major chain revealed the closing of dozens of outlets a last month, after the business behind its outlets entered insolvency.

Health Efforts

Adapting to customer preferences towards balanced diets, Domino's has rolled out lower-calorie items, such as its Thin & Crispy line of bakes below 400 calories as well as plant-based and gluten-free options. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has over 2,100, while a personal has 909 kcal.

Acting Leadership

Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and was formerly with the betting firm William Hill. It is thought that she is not seeking to take on the top job on a full-time basis.

She said: “The company has a several ongoing expansion and operational projects that we will be dedicated to implementing at pace.”

She added these involved additional efforts on the company's procurement system and new item creation, and its customer retention initiative.

Domino's is also in need of a permanent finance director until March 16, when Andrea comes aboard from the beverage producer a well-known firm. In the meantime, Richard Snow serves as acting financial officer.