Wendy’s names Steve Cirulis CFO
The former Potbelly executive will also serve as chief strategy officer, and will replace Ken Cook, who guided Wendy’s for months while it looked for new leadership.
June 23, 2026
Wendy’s continued its leadership overhaul on Tuesday, naming Steve Cirulis its new chief financial officer and chief strategy officer.
Cirulis comes to the company from Potbelly, where he held the same titles and worked under Bob Wright, who was named CEO of Wendy’s in May.
He will replace Ken Cook, who had been named Wendy’s CFO in late 2024 and was thrust into the interim CEO role months later with the unexpected departure of Kirk Tanner.
Cook will serve as an advisor through July.
“Ken was a steadfast leader at a critical time of change for Wendy’s,” Wright said in a statement.
At Potbelly, Cirulis and Wright led a brand turnaround that generated double-digit growth in average-unit volumes and a 500% increase in its share price, leading to its ultimate sale to the convenience store chain RaceTrac.
Before Potbelly, Cirulis worked with Panera Bread, McDonald’s and Gap, Inc.
“Driving solid financial discipline, topline growth, and enhanced franchisee profitability are essential to our future success,” Wright said. He said that Cirulis has “decades of experience across large-scale retail and restaurant brands” that “will benefit our system from day one.”
Both Wright and Cirulis will be tasked with turning around one of the industry’s most iconic brands following an ugly sales slump that has led to the closure of hundreds of stores while the chain loses ground to competitors, notably rival Burger King.
Same-store sales have fallen for four straight quarters, including a 7.8% decline in the first three months of 2026. On a two-year basis, same-store sales declined 10.6%.
Much of that is due to the loss of business during breakfast, which Wendy’s added in 2020. Weak franchisee profitability prompted the company to allow some franchisees to stop serving the daypart.
About the Author
Jonathan Maze
Editor in Chief, Restaurant Business
Restaurant Business Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze is a longtime industry journalist who writes about restaurant finance, mergers and acquisitions and the economy, with a particular focus on quick-service restaurants. He writes daily about the factors influencing the operating environment, including labor and food costs and various industry trends such as technology and delivery.
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