A Wendy’s restaurant sign seen in Austin, Texas on November 10, 2025.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
wendy’s The company announced Wednesday that it has named Bob Wright as its newest chief executive officer.
The announcement came after the struggling burger chain reported five consecutive quarters of declining same-store sales and rumors of a possible take-private initiative led by Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management.
Mr Wright previously served as CEO of Potbelly for five years, leading the sandwich chain’s turnaround in the wake of the pandemic lockdown. Potbelly went private last year after being acquired by convenience store owner Racetrack for $566 million.
Wright will officially become Wendy’s CEO on Thursday.
The chain has been without a permanent chief executive since Kirk Tanner left Wendy’s in July to become Hershey’s CEO. Tanner had only been at Wendy’s for about 18 months. Before Tanner’s tenure, Wendy’s fired longtime CEO Todd Penegor, who had led the chain for nearly eight years.
Since Tanner’s departure, Wendy’s has struggled to attract increasingly value-minded consumers and has lost market share to competitors. mcdonalds And Burger King. In February, the company announced plans to close about 300 restaurants in the first half of this year.
Wendy’s stock has fallen nearly 35% over the past year, dropping its market value to $1.55 billion.
The company’s decline made it a much cheaper acquisition target for Trian.
The Financial Times reported earlier this month that the company was seeking funding to take Wendy’s private. This isn’t the first time Trian has considered it. The company recently announced that it was considering acquiring Wendy’s in 2022, but later decided against it.
Tryon owns 7.85% of Wendy’s stock, which Peltz describes as “undervalued,” according to recent regulatory filings.
Mr. Peltz’s relationship with Wendy’s dates back to an activist campaign he led in 2005. In 2024, Wendy’s named Mr. Peltz chairman emeritus after 17 years on the company’s board of directors. Trian executive Peter May and Peltz’s son, Bradley, remain on Wendy’s board.
