Burger King combines global operations and marketing
Burger King’s global chief marketing officer, Natalia Franco is leaving the fast food chain after less than a year in the role as part of an overhaul of its global marketing structure.
Jonathan Fitzpatrick will become the company’s chief brand and operations officer. Previously Fitzpatrick handled global operations. It is not known if Franco has a job to go to.
The changes align the company’s global brand marketing and global operations team to create a single global brand marketing and operations function.
Burger King says the restructure will enable the chain to be “more nimble” when it comes to global decision making and international marketing execution.
Burger King was sold to private equity firm 3G Capital in a deal said to be valued at $3.26bn (£2.01bn). The firm is said to be leading the changes, in order to improve results and growth to better compete with rival fast food chain McDonald’s.
The company is also realigning its North American business and is expanding the role of its EVP and president of North America, Steve Wiborg, to include direct responsibility for its American marketing.
Franco, who was global VP of marketing and innovation at Coca-Cola, prior to joining Burger King, is the latest high profile marketer to leave the chain. UK marketing director Sarah Power left the company last month and in May the company’s most senior European marketer David Kisilevsky left to join ad agency McCann Erickson.
Kisilevsky was replaced by John Schaufelberger earlier this month.