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The chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who proposed the United Kingdom might have hit pizza saturation while diversifying the company into poultry items has been ousted after conflicts with its directors.

Executive Change

The former CEO is exiting after only 24 months in leadership, and will be replaced on an acting basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's looks for a long-term chief.

Rennie, who was with the company for a substantial period, had attempted to shift Britain's biggest pizza food delivery firm towards poultry-based products, commenting in a recent interview there was not “huge potential” left in the British pizza industry. He observed poultry was the quickest rising protein in the international market.

Board Disagreements

Reports indicate that there was disagreement between the CEO and the board over his focus and management style, although the company's announcement said he was stepping down “by mutual agreement”.

New Product Launch

In the autumn, Domino's introduced its poultry brand – which Rennie called a “significant new phase” for the company – and is trialling it in over 200 locations in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the business is still planning to expand it across its nearly 1,400 branches in 2026 as intended, it views fried chicken as complementary to its primary pizza operations.

Board Comment

The Domino's chair, the company chair, commented: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to enhance value and value creation in Domino's core business. We are focused on finding the ideal CEO to oversee the systematic rollout of that expansion plan.”

Market Challenges

Earlier this month, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said orders dipped by 1.5 percent in the Q3. In August, it alerted that the food delivery sector had “become tougher” as it attributed weaker consumer confidence in the run-up to the budget and rising wage costs for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15 percent decline in six-month income.

Other pizza operators are also experiencing difficulties. Another major chain revealed the closing of 68 restaurants a month ago, after the company behind its UK venues entered insolvency.

Wellness Initiatives

Trying to keep up with market shifts towards better nutrition, the company has rolled out light products, such as its thin-crust line of bakes below 400 kcal as well as meat-free and gluten-free options. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 calories. A family cheese pizza has 2,171 kcal, while a personal has 909 calories.

Acting Management

Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and previously worked for the gambling company a well-known operator. It is believed that she does not want to take on the CEO position permanently.

She said: “Our team has a multiple current development and performance initiatives that we will be concentrating on executing at pace.”

She added these involved ongoing development on the organization's procurement system and product development, and its rewards program.

Domino's is also in need of a permanent finance director until 16 March, when a new appointee starts from the Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group. For now, Snow serves as acting financial officer.