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The chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who suggested the United Kingdom might have reached pizza saturation while diversifying the company into fried chicken has been ousted after conflicts with its governing body.

Leadership Change

Andrew Rennie is exiting after a brief tenure in leadership, and will be succeeded on an acting basis by the company's chief operating officer, Nicola Frampton, while the pizza giant seeks a new leader.

The outgoing executive, who was with the company for more than two decades, had attempted to shift Britain's largest pizza food delivery firm towards fried chicken, remarking in a recent interview there was not “significant expansion” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He noted poultry was the quickest rising menu item in the world.

Board Friction

It is understood that there was friction between the CEO and the board over his approach and management style, although Domino's release said he was stepping down “by mutual agreement”.

New Brand Launch

In the autumn, Domino's unveiled its chicken-focused product line – which Rennie described as a “bold new chapter” for the company – and is testing it in select stores in the north-west of England and the province.

While the company is still planning to expand it across its almost 1,400 stores in 2026 as intended, it considers fried chicken as a supplement for its main pizza offerings.

Board Comment

The Domino's chair, the company chair, commented: “The board believes that there are a range of possibilities to drive further growth and performance improvement in the main pizza segment. We are focused on finding the ideal CEO to oversee the systematic rollout of that development approach.”

Industry Difficulties

In the latest update, Domino's, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said sales fell by 1.5% in the latest quarter. In August, it warned that the food delivery sector had “grown more challenging” as it blamed weaker consumer confidence in the lead-up to the budget and increasing labor expenses for below-target performance and a significant fall in half-year profits.

Other pizza operators are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut announced the closure of multiple locations a recently, after the firm behind its UK venues fell into administration.

Wellness Efforts

Trying to keep up with consumer trends towards healthier eating, Domino's has rolled out lower-calorie products, such as its light base range of bakes below 400 kcals as well as plant-based and allergy-friendly options. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 calories. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171, while a small has under 1,000 calories.

Acting Management

Frampton has been with Domino's since 2021, and was formerly with the betting firm William Hill. It is understood that she is not seeking to occupy the top job permanently.

She commented: “We have a multiple ongoing development and operational projects that we will be focused on implementing at pace.”

Frampton noted these included ongoing development on the organization's supply chain and menu innovation, and its loyalty scheme.

Domino's is also lacking a full-time chief financial officer until March 16, when a new appointee comes aboard from the beverage producer a well-known firm. For now, Snow is temporary CFO.