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A head of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who proposed the UK might have reached pizza saturation while broadening the company into poultry items has been removed after tensions with its board.

Leadership Change

The former CEO is exiting after only 24 months in charge, and will be succeeded on an acting basis by the company's chief operating officer, Nicola Frampton, while the pizza giant looks for a long-term chief.

Rennie, who worked for the company for a substantial period, had sought to redirect the UK's largest pizza food delivery firm towards chicken offerings, stating in a recent interview there was not “significant expansion” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He noted chicken was the quickest rising protein in the world.

Governance Friction

It is understood that there was friction between the CEO and the board over his strategy and management style, although the company's announcement said he was departing “as a joint decision”.

New Product Introduction

In September, the chain unveiled its poultry offering – which the former chief referred to as a “bold new chapter” for the group – and is trialling it in select stores in the North West region and Northern Ireland.

While the business is still going to roll it out across its nearly 1,400 branches in 2026 as planned, it regards chicken products as a supplement for its main pizza offerings.

Board Statement

The Domino's chair, the company chairman, said: “The board believes that there are a range of possibilities to drive further growth and performance improvement in the main pizza segment. We are concentrating on finding the suitable leader to oversee the systematic rollout of that growth strategy.”

Industry Difficulties

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the British Isles, said sales declined by 1.5 percent in the Q3. In August, it cautioned that the quick-service industry had “grown more challenging” as it attributed economic uncertainty in the run-up to the budget and rising wage costs for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15% drop in six-month income.

Rival chains are also struggling. Another major chain announced the closing of 68 restaurants a recently, after the business behind its UK venues faced financial collapse.

Health Initiatives

Trying to keep up with consumer trends towards better nutrition, the company has introduced light options, such as its thin-crust selection of pizzas below 400 kcal as well as vegan and gluten-free options. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 calories. A large cheese and tomato pizza has 2,171 kcal, while a small has 909 kcal.

Acting Leadership

Frampton has been with Domino's since the recent past, and was formerly with the gambling company William Hill. It is understood that she is not seeking to assume the CEO position permanently.

She commented: “The company has a multiple ongoing development and efficiency programs that we will be dedicated to implementing at a rapid rate.”

She said these comprised additional efforts on the company's procurement system and product development, and its loyalty scheme.

Domino's is also lacking a long-term finance director until 16 March, when Andrea joins from the Irish cider and beer maker a well-known firm. Until then, Snow acts as interim finance chief.