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The head of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who suggested the UK might have hit pizza saturation while diversifying the chain into fried chicken has been replaced after conflicts with its governing body.

Leadership Change

Andrew Rennie is exiting after a brief tenure in the top role, and will be succeeded on an temporary basis by the organization's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while the pizza giant looks for a permanent CEO.

The outgoing executive, who served at the company for over 20 years, had sought to shift Britain's largest pizza delivery company towards chicken offerings, commenting in a recent interview there was not “massive growth” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He said chicken was the quickest rising food category in the globe.

Governance Tensions

Sources suggest that there was disagreement between Rennie and the board over his strategy and business vision, although Domino's announcement said he was stepping down “by mutual agreement”.

New Product Introduction

In the autumn, Domino's launched its poultry brand – which Rennie referred to as a “bold new chapter” for the organization – and is piloting it in select stores 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 intended, it considers chicken products as an addition to its main pizza offerings.

Leadership Statement

Ian Bull, the company chairman, said: “Directors think that there are a series of prospects to drive further growth and profitability in our primary operations. We are concentrating on selecting the ideal CEO to direct the disciplined execution of that development approach.”

Market Challenges

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the UK and Ireland, said transactions declined by 1.5% in the third quarter. In August, it warned that the takeaway market had “intensified” as it attributed weaker consumer confidence in the period before the budget and increasing labor expenses for below-target performance and a significant fall in six-month income.

Competitors are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut announced the closure of 68 restaurants a last month, after the business behind its UK venues fell into administration.

Health Efforts

Trying to keep up with consumer trends towards balanced diets, the company has introduced reduced-calorie items, such as its light base line of bakes below 400 kcal as well as plant-based and allergy-friendly pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 kcals. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171, while a personal has 909 kcal.

Interim Management

The interim chief has been with the company since the recent past, and previously worked for the gaming group a well-known operator. It is believed that she does not want to assume the chief executive role permanently.

She said: “Our team has a number of current development and efficiency programs that we will be dedicated to carrying out at pace.”

She said these included ongoing development on the organization's procurement system and product development, and its loyalty scheme.

Domino's is also in need of a permanent finance director until 16 March, when a new appointee joins from the Irish cider and beer maker a well-known firm. In the meantime, Richard Snow acts as interim finance chief.