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The head of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who indicated the United Kingdom might have hit peak pizza while broadening the company into fried chicken has been ousted after tensions with its board.

Executive Change

Rennie is exiting after only 24 months in leadership, and will be replaced on an interim basis by the company's operations head, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's searches for a long-term chief.

The outgoing executive, who was with Domino's for over 20 years, had sought to redirect the UK's largest pizza takeaway chain towards poultry-based products, remarking earlier this month there was not “massive growth” left in the British pizza industry. He noted chicken was the quickest rising menu item in the world.

Governance Friction

Sources suggest that there was tension between the CEO and the directors over his strategy and management style, although Domino's official statement said he was departing “by mutual agreement”.

New Product Launch

In September, the chain launched its Chick 'N' Dip product line – which Rennie called a “major strategic shift” for the company – and is piloting it in over 200 locations in the north-west of England and Northern Ireland.

While the business is still going to roll it out across its extensive network in 2026 as intended, it views fried chicken as complementary to its main pizza offerings.

Leadership Statement

The Domino's chair, the company chairman, stated: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to enhance value and performance improvement in the main pizza segment. We are focused on selecting the ideal CEO to oversee the careful implementation of that growth strategy.”

Market Challenges

Recently, the pizza delivery giant, which has 13 million customers in the UK and Ireland, said sales dipped by 1.5% in the Q3. In August, it warned that the food delivery sector had “become tougher” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the lead-up to the government announcement and increasing labor expenses for weaker-than-expected sales and a 15 percent decline in half-year profits.

Other pizza operators are also struggling. Another major chain announced the closing of 68 restaurants a last month, after the company behind its outlets faced financial collapse.

Health Efforts

Responding to market shifts towards healthier eating, Domino's has introduced light products, such as its thin-crust range of pizzas below 400 kcals as well as plant-based and gluten-free options. A large pepperoni pizza has over 2,300 kcal. A big margherita has over 2,100, while a small has 909 kcal.

Interim Management

Nicola Frampton has been with the company since 2021, and was formerly with the gambling company a well-known operator. It is thought that she does not want to take on the CEO position on a full-time basis.

Frampton stated: “We have a number of current expansion and operational projects that we will be concentrating on carrying out at a rapid rate.”

Frampton noted these involved further work on the organization's supply chain and product development, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also without a full-time chief financial officer until March 16, when a new appointee comes aboard from the drinks company C&C Group. For now, Richard Snow serves as acting financial officer.