Curtis was named chief operating officer (COO) in April but has since received a promotion.
Burger King in the U.S. and Canada named the former Domino’s executive as its new president, with Curtis’s main task being to turn the chain around and restoring it to its former glory. Curtis replaces Chris Finazzo who stepped down from his role in July.
“Tom joined us a few months ago and has quickly established a strong leadership position in the business and trust with our franchisees,” said Jose Cil, CEO of Burger King parent company Restaurant Brands International.
“Tom will lead the acceleration of our business to deliver on our vision that Burger King should always be our guests’ first choice for a quality meal, an exceptional and convenient experience and great value.”
Many in the industry have noted that Burger King’s performance in the fast-food space has slipped and one of Curtis’s main tasks will be to ensure it keeps pace with its competitors. Wendy’s, McDonalds and Jack in the Box all reported double-digit two-year same-store sales growth in the last U.S. quarter, whereas the Miami Burger King locations, for example, only managed 2 per cent growth. This led to Jose Cil announcing that the company isn’t performing as expected during a second quarter earning call, as reported by Restaurant Business.
Curtis was initially brought in on an interim basis to work with the chief marketing officer, Ellie Doty.
Curtis’s stint at Domino’s lasted 15 years, and was most recently the executive vice president of U.S. operations before taking up a similar position at Burger King.
Curtis intends to work with franchisees to improve the guest experience.
“We intend to play to our distinctive heritage and strengths, evolve our menu to deliver exceptional taste and value in key dayparts, streamline our operations to provide our guests with a consistent, quality experience, accelerate our digital integration, led by the nationwide launch of our Royal Perks loyalty program, and drive the transformation of our restaurant network with high-quality locations, exciting design, and high ROI for our franchisees,” said Curtis.
