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The boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who suggested the United Kingdom might have reached pizza saturation while broadening the chain into fried chicken has been removed after conflicts with its governing body.

Leadership Change

The former CEO is exiting after a brief tenure in the top role, and will be replaced on an acting basis by the organization's chief operating officer, Frampton, while the pizza giant seeks a permanent CEO.

Rennie, who was with the company for more than two decades, had aimed to pivot the UK's largest pizza takeaway chain towards fried chicken, stating in a recent interview there was not “huge potential” left in the British pizza industry. He said chicken was the fastest-growing protein in the world.

Governance Tensions

Reports indicate that there was disagreement between the CEO and the governance team over his focus and business vision, although Domino's official statement said he was leaving “through mutual consent”.

Recent Product Launch

In the autumn, the chain launched its poultry offering – which the former chief described as a “bold new chapter” for the company – and is testing it in select stores in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the company is still intending to launch it across its almost 1,400 stores in the coming year as intended, it considers fried chicken as an addition to its main pizza offerings.

Board Statement

Bull, the Domino's chair, said: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to boost expansion and profitability in Domino's core business. We are concentrating on identifying the suitable leader to direct the disciplined execution of that development approach.”

Industry Difficulties

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said orders declined by 1.5 percent in the third quarter. In August, it cautioned that the quick-service industry had “become tougher” as it attributed economic uncertainty in the run-up to the budget and increasing labor expenses for disappointing revenue and a 15% drop in half-year profits.

Competitors are also struggling. Pizza Hut disclosed the closure of multiple locations a month ago, after the firm behind its British operations faced financial collapse.

Health Efforts

Adapting to market shifts towards healthier eating, Domino's has rolled out reduced-calorie items, such as its Thin & Crispy line of pizzas below 400 kcal as well as vegan and gluten-free pizzas. A family-sized pepperoni has over 2,300 kcal. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171, while a small has 909 calories.

Acting Leadership

The interim chief has been with the company since the recent past, and had a background at the gambling company William Hill. It is believed that she does not want to take on the CEO position long-term.

She said: “Our team has a number of current expansion and operational projects that we will be focused on implementing at speed.”

Frampton noted these comprised ongoing development on the company's logistics network and product development, and its rewards program.

Domino's is also without a full-time CFO until the spring, when a new appointee starts from the beverage producer C&C Group. In the meantime, Richard Snow acts as temporary CFO.