Chipotle veteran Scott Boatwright named permanent CEO

By Juveria Tabassum

(Reuters) -Chipotle Mexican Grill on Monday named interim boss Scott Boatwright as permanent CEO of the burrito chain in a widely expected move, months after Brian Niccol exited the role to take the top job at Starbucks.

Boatwright, who has been at Chipotle since 2017, takes the helm as restaurants across the United States battle weak consumer demand in the face of higher menu prices.

In a surprise announcement in August, Starbucks named Niccol as its new CEO, leaving Chipotle under Boatwright, who has vowed to push the burrito chain to be a "global lifestyle brand" and expand to 7,000 restaurants in North America.

A veteran in the restaurant industry, Boatwright spent 18 years with Arby's Restaurant Group before joining Chipotle in 2017.

He was named CEO following "a thorough and rigorous external search process," Chipotle said in a statement on Monday.

Boatwright worked closely with Niccol to also steer the company out of a crisis following a severe E. coli and salmonella outbreak in 2015.

"Boatwright was by far the most logical choice given his instrumental role in leading Chipotle's efforts to improve operations, integrate new technology, reduce employee turnover, and bolster customer satisfaction," said Sharon Zackfia, analyst at William Blair.

His appointment as CEO comes amid a slew of changes to the top brass at Chipotle following Niccol's exit.

In August, Chipotle also accelerated the appointment of Adam Rymer as its chief financial officer, and named Rymer's predecessor Jack Hartung as chief strategy officer.

Hartung was originally set to retire in March next year after a little over two decades as the company's CFO. Rymer has been at Chipotle for 15 years, last serving as vice president of finance.

"Boatwright as CEO should build confidence among investors in Chipotle's management," said Jim Sanderson, analyst at Northcoast Research.

Chipotle's stock lost $6 billion in market value immediately after Niccol's departure. Since then, shares have risen about 14%.

(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry and Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona)

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