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The chief executive of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who suggested the United Kingdom might have hit maximum pizza demand while broadening the franchise into fried chicken has been ousted after disagreements with its directors.

Executive Transition

The former CEO is leaving after a brief tenure in the top role, and will be replaced on an acting basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while the pizza giant seeks a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who worked for the company for more than two decades, had aimed to redirect the UK's biggest pizza delivery company towards fried chicken, commenting recently there was not “massive growth” left in the UK's pizza market. He noted poultry was the fastest-growing menu item in the international market.

Governance Disagreements

Sources suggest that there was disagreement between Rennie and the directors over his strategy and business vision, although the company's release said he was leaving “by mutual agreement”.

New Brand Introduction

In September, the chain launched its poultry product line – which the former chief referred to as a “bold new chapter” for the organization – and is testing it in select stores in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the business is still going to roll it out across its extensive network in 2026 as planned, it considers chicken products as complementary to its primary pizza operations.

Board Statement

Ian Bull, the company chair, commented: “The board believes that there are a range of possibilities to drive further growth and performance improvement in our primary operations. We are focused on finding the right chief executive to lead the careful implementation of that expansion plan.”

Industry Challenges

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has millions of users in the UK and Ireland, said transactions fell by 1.5% in the Q3. In the summer, it cautioned that the quick-service industry had “grown more challenging” as it attributed economic uncertainty in the period before the government announcement and higher payroll outlays for disappointing revenue and a 15 percent decline in six-month income.

Other pizza operators are also facing challenges. Pizza Hut revealed the closing of multiple locations a month ago, after the firm behind its UK venues fell into administration.

Health Initiatives

Trying to keep up with market shifts towards balanced diets, the company has introduced reduced-calorie products, such as its light base line of bakes below 400 kcals as well as vegan and wheat-free pizzas. A large pepperoni pizza has 2,311 kcals. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171 kcal, while a small has 909 calories.

Interim Leadership

The interim chief has been with the company since the recent past, and was formerly with the gaming group William Hill. It is thought that she does not want to assume the top job on a full-time basis.

She said: “We have a number of ongoing growth and operational projects that we will be focused on implementing at speed.”

She said these comprised further work on the company's supply chain and new item creation, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also without a permanent finance director until 16 March, when Andy Andrea comes aboard from the beverage producer C&C Group. For now, Snow acts as temporary CFO.