Dive Brief:
- Wingstop appointed Rajneesh Kapoor, previously president of international, as its chief operating officer on Jan. 7, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Kapoor has served as senior vice president and president of international since May 2023. He is the first to serve in the position since Michael Skipworth was promoted from COO to CEO in 2022.
- Wingstop is the latest chain to reinstate the COO role. Jack in the Box and Starbucks both hired COOs last year after eliminating the positions.
Dive Insight:
In his new Wingstop position, Kapoor will be in charge of the company’s domestic and international franchise development and operations in addition to overseeing company-owned restaurants. His resume includes serving at 7-Eleven for a 27-year tenure and was senior vice president of fresh food, beverages and restaurants from January 2018 to April 2023, according to the SEC filing. Prior to that position, he served in various leadership positions for the convenience chain, spanning information technology to international.
Kapoor will likely oversee Wingstop’s kitchen display system, which was deployed across its restaurants last year. That platform has helped improve comparable sales and accuracy. In the Southwest, where the Wingstop Smart Kitchen has been online the longest, the restaurants also posted same-store sales growth in the mid- to single-digits, Skipworth said during a November earnings call.
The improvements could indicate that Wingstop’s slump in same-store sales in 2025 may be short-lived. Wingstop also continues to grow its store count at a rapid rate, opening 369 net new restaurants during the first nine months of the year on its way toward opening an estimated 475 to 486 units in 2025. The company likely surpassed 3,000 units during the fourth quarter as it ended the third quarter with 2,932 units.
As part of the leadership shift, Wingstop eliminated the positions of Marisa Carona, senior vice president and chief U.S. franchise operations and development officer, and Albert McGrath, senior vice president and general counsel and secretary. Both will stay on until March 10.
