good morning Chipotle Mexican Grill’s board of directors officially appointed Scott Boatwright on Monday. Boatwright was serving in an interim role after his sudden departure Former director Brian Niccolwhich he left in August to take the top job at Starbucks. As he plans Chipotle’s next steps, Boatwright is likely to look to CEO Adam Rymer, who recently moved up to the C-suite, as a strategic partner.
Boatwright, who was selected “after a robust and thorough process,” previously served as chief operating officer and chief restaurant officer at Chipotle, joining Arby’s in 2017.
“I am passionate about our menu and energized by our people, and I believe that I, along with our appointed leaders, will deliver on our priorities and achieve our long-term growth goals,” Boatwright said. statement.
He was the most logical choice for CEO “given Chipotle’s instrumental role in improving operations, integrating new technology, reducing employee turnover and increasing customer satisfaction,” William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia posted in a note Monday.
Jack Hartung, a longtime former CFO, retained Chipotle and Rymer as CFO, “Given the depth of its management bench, we remain confident in Chipotle’s outlook,” writes Zackfiak.
Rymer, a 15-year Chipotle veteran, began his role as CFO on Oct. 1, having previously served as director of financial services. After Niccol announced his departure from the company last summer, Hartung, who joined the company as CFO in 2002, he rejected plans to retire on March 31 Hartung began his new, indefinite role as president and chief strategy officer on October 1.
Boatwright, Rymer and Hartung have been involved in developing Chipotle’s strategy. Five key factors are the launch and increase of restaurants with a culture of accountability to people technology and innovationdeveloping and retaining diverse talent at all levels, improving overall guest engagement and accelerating restaurant openings, Boatwright said in Chipotle’s Q3. earnings call on October 29
William Blair reiterated his outperform rating on Chipotle. The company says there is a strong outlook for EPS growth in excess of 20% in 2024 and 2025, followed by sustained EPS growth in the mid- and high-teens over the next 10 years. However, analysts at William Blair also note that some of the risks include exposure to avocado costs, continued pressure from wage inflation, “intense competition” and economic sensitivity.
Speaking of fierce competition, after customers complained about Chipotle’s inconsistent portion sizes earlier this year, the company made sure all of its store sizes were comparable and paid the price, luck notify.
“The benefit of last year’s menu price increases was more than offset by inflation on several items, particularly avocados and dairy products, as well as higher usage as we focused on ensuring consistent and generous portions,” Rymer said on the quarter’s earnings call.
Boatwright said on the call that the company remains committed to delivering generous portions despite higher costs. And Rymer said it plans to offset some of the costs through “efficiency and innovation” in its supply chain in the coming quarters.
Chipotle will apparently have to find the right recipe to balance portion size with costs.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
The following episodes of CFO Daily were edited by Greg McKenna.
Leaderboard
Cathy W. Liles He was promoted to CFO Old Point Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: OPOF), as well as EVP and CFO of Old Point National Bank, effective immediately. He has been the Virginia bank’s interim CFO since July after joining the company in May as SVP and director of accounting. He previously served as SVP and chief accounting officer at American National Bankshares and also served as SVP and CFO at Carter Bank & Trust.
James Richardson financial director and accounting director were appointed Inspired Entertainment (Nasdaq: INSE), a gaming technology company, effective Jan. 1. He joins from Manchester Airports Group, where he served as group commercial finance director. Previously, he was global finance director of William Hill’s online betting and gaming business and has held senior finance positions at DFC Global and Global Payments.
Great Deal
What is power, and how do you measure it? Those are the questions luck she asked as she mounted hers debut list Of the 100 most powerful people in the company. While it may be a vague concept, it is certainly something that is hard won and easily lost, writes Lee Clifford, and never static.
luck‘s editors scored nominees on a variety of metrics, including the size of the business the person runs and the health of that business. The team also judged the contestants on a scale of their innovation, influence and impact, taking into account one’s place in their career arc.
The list includes the leaders of 40 industries distributed in 16 countries. There are such things as serial entrepreneurs Elon MuskThe bet on Donald Trump seems to have paid off big. Meanwhile, most CEOs would take a call from Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huangwhose company is at the heart of the AI boom, ahead of the president.
Ultimately, Clifford writes, the people on the list share one essential characteristic: their words, actions, and wealth shape what others around them think and do.
Going deeper
“Future of Finance” is a new limited podcast the series Organized by Itay Goldstein, head of the school’s finance department, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. H has entered the first sectionyun Song Shin, Economic Advisor and Head of Research at the Bank for International Settlements, and Loretta Mester, former President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. they discuss collapse Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse and other small mid-tier banks in 2023, exploring regulatory gaps and possible safeguards for the banking system.
listen
“We often end up overestimating what happens in the short term, and significantly underestimating what happens in the long term. I think that’s very true here.’
— Zig Serafin, CEO of management software company Qualtricshe said luck‘s Global Forum conference in New York City on Monday comparing AI to the Industrial Revolution.
