Frances Allen has stepped down as CEO of Boston Market and is being replaced by former company COO Eric Wyatt, the company announced on Monday. The news of the executive shift comes nearly seven months after the struggling Golden, Colo.-based rotisserie chicken chain closed nearly 10% of its 454-unit system due to store underperformance.
“The significant progress Boston Market has achieved in a short period of time and in the face of very challenging market conditions would not have been possible without the commitment and efforts of our entire team; this company is in a very different place than it was in 2018,” Allen said in a statement. “Most importantly, there is a robust game plan in place to take the brand forward. The foundation is here. The structure is here. The plan is here. And the people are here.”
According to Boston Market, Wyatt will be the head of the newly created “office of CEO” at the Sun Capital Partners Inc.-owned company, which includes two other members of the company’s c-suite: chief financial officer Caryn Doyle and chief administrative officer and general counsel Randy Miller. Together, they will be continuing to implement the “multi-faceted transformation plan” begun last year by Allen with long-term sustainability, brand relevance, innovation, guest satisfaction and “overall profitability” in mind as both short and long-term goals.
“The renewed energy and excitement now surrounding Boston Market is palpable from the restaurants to the support center,” Wyatt said in a statement. “The fun has returned in multiple ways, from investments in our workforce to our fresh new marketing and messaging, to more contemporary recipes, to delivering an entirely new, more compelling experience for guests that has dramatically improved satisfaction levels.”
Before joining Boston Market as COO in Sept. 2018, Wyatt held executive positions at such brands as Panera Bread, Starbucks, and Taco Bell.
A Boston Market representative has confirmed that they do not have any information on Frances Allen’s next career move.
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