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The chief executive of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who proposed the UK might have reached pizza saturation while broadening the chain into poultry items has been ousted after tensions with its directors.

Leadership Transition

Andrew Rennie is departing after a brief tenure in leadership, and will be replaced on an interim basis by the company's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's looks for a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who served at the company for over 20 years, had attempted to pivot the UK's leading pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, remarking recently there was not “massive growth” left in the pizza sector in the UK. He said poultry was the fastest-growing protein in the world.

Governance Disagreements

It is understood that there was friction between the CEO and the governance team over his focus and direction, although Domino's announcement said he was stepping down “through mutual consent”.

Recent Product Introduction

In September, the chain unveiled its chicken-focused product line – which Rennie described as a “major strategic shift” for the group – and is testing it in select stores in the North West region and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still intending to launch it across its nearly 1,400 branches in 2026 as planned, it views chicken products as an addition to its primary pizza operations.

Board Comment

Ian Bull, the Domino's chair, said: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to drive further growth and performance improvement in Domino's core business. We are prioritizing identifying the suitable leader to oversee the disciplined execution of that development approach.”

Market Challenges

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has millions of users in the British Isles, said transactions declined by 1.5% in the third quarter. In the summer, it cautioned that the quick-service industry had “grown more challenging” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the lead-up to the government announcement and increasing labor expenses for below-target performance and a significant fall in interim earnings.

Rival chains are also facing challenges. Pizza Hut announced the closing of dozens of outlets a last month, after the company behind its outlets fell into administration.

Health Efforts

Adapting to customer preferences towards balanced diets, Domino's has launched reduced-calorie options, such as its Thin & Crispy line of bakes below 400 kcals as well as plant-based and allergy-friendly options. A family-sized pepperoni has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has 2,171 kcal, while a small has 909 kcal.

Acting Leadership

The interim chief has been with Domino's since the recent past, and previously worked for the gaming group a well-known operator. It is believed that she does not want to occupy the top job permanently.

She said: “We have a several ongoing development and efficiency programs that we will be dedicated to carrying out at pace.”

Frampton noted these comprised further work on the company's procurement system and menu innovation, and its rewards program.

The pizza chain is also without a full-time finance director until March 16, when a new appointee comes aboard from the beverage producer C&C Group. Until then, Richard Snow is temporary CFO.