Item 5.02 |
Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
(b), (c) and (d) On July 1, 2025, Kirk Tanner, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Wendy’s Company (the “Company”), notified the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) of his intention to resign from his positions as President and Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Company, effective July 18, 2025, to become the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Hershey Company.
Subsequently, the Board appointed Ken Cook, age 44, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, as Interim Chief Executive Officer, effective July 18, 2025. Mr. Cook will also continue to serve as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and will serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer until such time as the Board determines. Mr. Cook has served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer since December 2024. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Cook spent 20 years at United Parcel Service, Inc. (“UPS”) in roles of increasing responsibility, including having most recently served as Head of Financial Planning and Analysis from September 2024 to November 2024. Prior to that, Mr. Cook served as Chief Financial Officer for the $60 billion U.S. Domestic segment of UPS from September 2023 to August 2024, Investor Relations Officer from 2022 to 2023, Vice President, Investor Relations from 2020 to 2022, Vice President, Assistant Treasurer from 2017 to 2020 and Chief Financial Officer, South Asia from 2014 to 2017.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Cook and any other person pursuant to which Mr. Cook was appointed as Interim Chief Executive Officer. Neither Mr. Cook nor any member of his immediate family has had (or proposes to have) a direct or indirect interest in any transaction in which the Company or any of its subsidiaries was (or is proposed to be) a participant that would be required to be disclosed under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
As of the date of filing of this Current Report on Form 8-K, the Company has not entered into any material plan, contract or arrangement or made any amendment thereto or made any grant or award, in each case in connection with Mr. Cook’s appointment as Interim Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Cook’s previously reported compensatory arrangements, grants and awards remain in effect. To the extent any such arrangements are amended, or any new material plan, contract or arrangement or amendment is entered into in connection with Mr. Cook’s appointment as Interim Chief Executive Officer, including any new grant or award, the Company will file an amendment to this Current Report on Form 8-K within four business days after the Company enters into any such plan, contract, arrangement, amendment, grant or award to include the information required by Item 5.02(c)(3) of Form 8-K.
In connection with the above-described changes the Board determined that, effective upon Mr. Tanner’s departure from the Board on July 18, 2025, the size of the Board will be reduced from 10 to 9 directors.
Furthermore, on July 3, 2025, Matthew H. Peltz informed the Company of his resignation from the Board, effective as of July 8, 2025, to devote more time to other business commitments. Mr. M. Peltz has served as a director of the Company since 2015 and as Vice Chairman since 2021. Subsequently, the Board filled the vacancy resulting from Mr. M. Peltz’s resignation by electing Bradley G. Peltz to serve as a director of the Company, effective on July 8, 2025.
Mr. B. Peltz will serve as a member of the Board until the Company’s 2026 annual meeting of stockholders, which is expected to be held in May 2026 (the “2026 Annual Meeting”) and until his successor is elected and qualified, or until his earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal. In conjunction with his election to the Board, Mr. B. Peltz has been appointed to serve on the Technology Committee and the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of the Board.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. B. Peltz and any other persons pursuant to which Mr. B. Peltz was selected as a director.
Mr. B. Peltz is the son of Nelson Peltz, the former non-executive Chairman of the Company and the brother of Mr. Matthew H. Peltz, a former director of the Company. Mr. B. Peltz is a Managing Director of, and holds a minority ownership interest in, Yellow Cab Holdings, LLC (“Yellow Cab”), a Wendy’s franchisee that owns and operates 89 Wendy’s restaurants, and/or certain of the operating companies managed by Yellow Cab. During fiscal year 2025 through June 29, 2025, the Company received approximately $7.6 million in royalty, advertising fund, lease and other payments from Yellow Cab and related entities. Reference is made to the “Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions” section of the Company’s definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 3, 2025 (the “2025 Proxy Statement”) for further details regarding the Company’s relationship with Yellow Cab, which description is incorporated herein by reference.
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