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The head of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who proposed the United Kingdom might have hit peak pizza while expanding the company into chicken products has been replaced after disagreements with its governing body.

Leadership Change

Andrew Rennie is leaving after a brief tenure in the top role, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by the company's chief operating officer, Nicola Frampton, while the pizza giant looks for a new leader.

Rennie, who was with the company for a substantial period, had attempted to shift Britain's biggest pizza food delivery firm towards fried chicken, stating recently there was not “huge potential” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He noted chicken was the fastest-growing protein in the world.

Board Disagreements

Reports indicate that there was tension between the CEO and the governance team over his approach and direction, although the company's official statement said he was stepping down “through mutual consent”.

Recent Brand Introduction

In the autumn, Domino's launched its chicken-focused brand – which the former chief described as a “major strategic shift” for the company – and is piloting it in select stores in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the company is still planning to expand it across its extensive network in the coming year as intended, it regards fried chicken as an addition to its primary pizza operations.

Leadership Comment

The Domino's chair, the Domino's chairman, said: “Directors think that there are a number of opportunities to boost expansion and value creation in the main pizza segment. We are concentrating on finding the ideal CEO to lead the disciplined execution of that growth strategy.”

Industry Challenges

Recently, Domino's, which has a substantial customer base in the British Isles, said sales dipped by 1.5% in the Q3. In August, it cautioned that the takeaway market had “become tougher” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the run-up to the government announcement and rising wage costs for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15 percent decline in interim earnings.

Rival chains are also struggling. Another major chain revealed the closure of dozens of outlets a recently, after the firm behind its UK venues entered insolvency.

Health Initiatives

Responding to customer preferences towards balanced diets, Domino's has rolled out light items, such as its light base selection of pizzas below 400 kcals as well as vegan and allergy-friendly pizzas. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has 2,171 kcal, while a personal has 909 calories.

Acting Management

Frampton has been with the company since the recent past, and previously worked for the gaming group William Hill. It is believed that she prefers not to occupy the CEO position on a full-time basis.

Frampton stated: “Our team has a number of ongoing development and operational projects that we will be focused on executing at speed.”

She said these involved additional efforts on the company's supply chain and menu innovation, and its loyalty scheme.

The pizza chain is also without a permanent finance director until 16 March, when Andrea joins from the drinks company a well-known firm. For now, Snow acts as temporary CFO.