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The boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who proposed the United Kingdom might have hit peak pizza while expanding the franchise into poultry items has been replaced after disagreements with its governing body.

Leadership Shake-Up

Rennie is leaving after only 24 months in the top role, and will be replaced on an temporary basis by the organization's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's seeks a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who served at the company for a substantial period, had aimed to redirect Britain's largest pizza takeaway chain towards chicken offerings, commenting recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the British pizza industry. He observed poultry was the most rapidly expanding protein in the world.

Board Friction

It is understood that there was friction between Rennie and the governance team over his strategy and business vision, although the company's release said he was stepping down “by mutual agreement”.

New Brand Launch

In the autumn, Domino's unveiled its chicken-focused offering – which the former chief called a “major strategic shift” for the organization – and is trialling it in select stores in the north-west of England and the province.

While the business is still going to roll it out across its almost 1,400 stores in 2026 as scheduled, it views fried chicken as complementary to its primary pizza operations.

Board Comment

Ian Bull, the Domino's chairman, stated: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to enhance value and performance improvement in our primary operations. We are concentrating on selecting the right chief executive to lead the careful implementation of that development approach.”

Industry Difficulties

In the latest update, Domino's, which has millions of users in the British Isles, said sales fell by 1.5% in the latest quarter. In August, it cautioned that the quick-service industry had “intensified” as it attributed economic uncertainty in the period before the budget and higher payroll outlays for disappointing revenue and a significant fall in half-year profits.

Rival chains are also facing challenges. Another major chain disclosed the closure of multiple locations a last month, after the company behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Health Initiatives

Trying to keep up with market shifts towards balanced diets, the company has rolled out light products, such as its Thin & Crispy line of pizzas below 400 kcal as well as vegan and allergy-friendly pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 calories. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171, while a personal has under 1,000 calories.

Acting Leadership

Frampton has been with the company since 2021, and was formerly with the betting firm William Hill. It is thought that she prefers not to take on the CEO position on a full-time basis.

She said: “The company has a multiple current development and operational projects that we will be dedicated to carrying out at a rapid rate.”

She said these comprised ongoing development on the company's supply chain and menu innovation, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also in need of a long-term chief financial officer until March 16, when a new appointee joins from the Irish cider and beer maker a well-known firm. In the meantime, Richard Snow serves as interim finance chief.