Steve Cirulis has joined Wendy’s as chief financial officer and chief strategy officer, replacing Ken Cook.
- Newly appointed CEO Bob Wright and Cirulis worked together at Potbelly from 2020 to 2025.
- The duo helped grow Potbelly’s revenue from $338.9 million to almost $600 million during that period.
- Cirulis’ previous experience includes overseeing strategy at fast-food giant McDonald’s for over five years and at Panera Bread for more than a year.
Fast-food chain Wendy’s (WEN) caught investors' attention on Tuesday after appointing an industry veteran as its next finance chief amid its overseas expansion strategy to counter slowing growth in the U.S.
At the time of writing, WEN stock was up just under 1% but was among the top-ten trending tickers on Stocktwits.
Who Is The New CFO?
Wendy’s has roped in Steve Cirulis from rival restaurant chain Potbelly Sandwich Works to assume the post of CFO and strategy chief, succeeding Ken Cook, who served in the role for over a year and a half.
Cook will remain with the company until July in an advisory role to oversee the smooth handover of duties to Cirulis.
Cirulis’ resume spans over three decades, having been responsible for strategy at fast-food giant McDonald’s for over five years and at Panera Bread for more than a year.
Before his experience in the restaurant industry, he managed brand strategy for the U.S. clothing retailer Gap for nearly five years.
Crucial Hire At A Pivotal Stage
The executive hire comes as the company implements its turnaround strategy to offset weak sales in its home market with a new franchise agreement in China to open up to 1,000 outlets over the next ten years.
In the U.S., same-restaurant sales growth fell 7.8% in the first quarter, down from 2.8% in the same period last year. Wendy's noted that a decline in margins from its U.S. restaurants was primarily due to low traffic, commodity inflation, and labor rate inflation.
Notably, recently appointed CEO Bob Wright and Cirulis worked together at Potbelly from 2020 to 2025, guiding the company through COVID-era sales of $338.9 million to nearly $600 million by the time they left.
"Driving solid financial discipline, topline growth and enhanced franchisee profitability are essential to our future success," said CEO Bob Wright. "I am confident that Steve will play a critical role as we execute the turnaround of Wendy's.”
What Retail Traders Think Of WEN Stock?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment about WEN turned ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘neutral’ amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes over the last 24 hours.
One user on the platform cheered the reunion of Wright and Cirulis at Wendy’s after their successful stints at Potbelly.
View this Stocktwits post
WEN stock has declined more than 25% so far this year and roughly 50% over the last 12 months, underperforming the S&P 500.
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