Key Takeaways

  • The Wendy's Company announced on Tuesday the appointment of Steven Cirulis, a former Potbelly Sandwich executive, as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), effective immediately. The move comes as the restaurant chain advances its ongoing transformation plan, according to a company press release and securities filings.
  • Cirulis' appointment marks the latest executive change at the fast-food company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Previously, Wendy's named Potbelly veteran Bob Wright as CEO in May. Wright succeeded Kirk Tanner, who departed in July 2025, when Wendy's appointed CFO Ken Cook as interim CEO.
  • According to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Cook has stepped down from the CFO role in connection with Cirulis' appointment. Cook, who had served as finance chief since 2024, will remain in an advisory position to assist with a smooth transition until July 31, when his employment with the company will end. Wendy's stated that Cook will receive compensation and benefits related to termination without cause.

Deep Dive

Before joining Wendy's, Cirulis most recently served as CFO and CSO at Potbelly Sandwich Works for five years, departing last December (according to his LinkedIn profile). His previous roles also include Senior Vice President of Strategy at Panera Bread, Vice President of Global Corporate Strategy at McDonald's Corporation, and Senior Director of Strategy, Business Development, and Insights at Gap Inc.

According to the filings, in connection with his CFO appointment, Cirulis will receive an annual base salary of $675,000 and will be eligible for an annual performance bonus with a target amount equal to 90% of his base salary. The company stated that the actual performance bonus will range between 0% and 200% of the target, based on the achievement of specific performance goals.

The Panera and Potbelly veteran will also be eligible to participate in Wendy's long-term incentive plan, with an initial grant date fair value of $1.7 million. According to the filings, for fiscal year 2026, his long-term incentive award will include performance stock units with a target grant value of $825,000, restricted stock units with a grant date value of $247,500, and non-qualified stock options valued at $412,500.

Cirulis brings to Wendy's over 30 years of experience in the retail and restaurant industries, as the fast-food chain continues to advance its "Project Fresh" transformation plan.

The plan, launched in October 2025, includes goals to evaluate the company's U.S. restaurant system to improve profitability and realign capital allocation strategies to drive profitable growth (according to a press release at the time).

During his tenure at Potbelly—which overlapped with that of Wendy's current CEO Wright—he helped lead the sandwich chain's turnaround, which drove annual sales growth, as reported at the time by Restaurant Dive, a sister publication of CFO Dive. Wendy's said Tuesday that under the leadership of Wright and Cirulis, Potbelly's stock price increased 500%, with improvements in restaurant margin expansion and return on invested capital.

"I believe Wendy's has tremendous opportunities to drive revenue growth, enhance franchisee profitability, and create shareholder value, and I am eager to work alongside our talented employees and franchisees to unlock the full potential of the system," Cirulis said in a statement in Tuesday's press release.

Since announcing the transformation plan, the company has taken several steps to improve performance, including signing new international franchise agreements: plans to open 60 new restaurants in Mexico and up to 1,000 restaurants in China over the next 10 years (according to company press releases).

According to Wendy's first-quarter earnings report released on May 8, its international segment's system sales increased 6% year-over-year, while U.S. market sales declined 2.6%, and global sales decreased 5.5% year-over-year.

The earnings report showed that Wendy's first-quarter net income fell 42% to $22.7 million, compared with $39.2 million in the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA declined approximately 11% year-over-year to $111.3 million, and adjusted earnings per share decreased 40% year-over-year.

Despite this, Wendy's first-quarter results showed that the business is in the early stages of its transformation, said Cook, then interim CEO, in the press release, citing improvements in international sales and gains in key customer satisfaction and order accuracy metrics.