Wendy’s Names Steve Cirulis CFO and Chief Strategy Officer

The Wendy’s Company announced the appointment of Steve Cirulis as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, effective June 23, 2026. He will report to President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Wright and serve on Wendy’s Senior Leadership Team. Cirulis will succeed Ken Cook, who has served as Chief Financial Officer since 2024 and will remain in an advisory position through July to facilitate a smooth transition.

Cirulis most recently served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer for Potbelly Sandwich Works, where he led all financial, strategy, analytics and risk management functions. While at Potbelly, he partnered with our current CEO, Bob Wright, to lead a company and brand turnaround that, over their tenure, experienced a more than 500% increase in share price, double-digit growth in average unit volumes, substantial restaurant margin expansion and robust improvement in return on invested capital. Prior to Potbelly, Cirulis held senior strategy and finance roles at global restaurant and retail brands including Panera Bread, McDonald’s, and Gap, Inc.

In total, he has spent nearly 30 years with leading brands and consultancies across the food, beverage, retail and restaurant spaces.

“Driving solid financial discipline, topline growth and enhanced franchisee profitability are essential to our future success,” said President and CEO Bob Wright. “I am confident that Steve will play a critical role as we execute the turnaround of Wendy’s, driving growth and generating value for our franchisees, employees and shareholders. With decades of deep experience across large-scale retail and restaurant brands, Steve brings a wealth of expertise across a breadth of disciplines that will benefit our system from day one.”

“It is an honor to join this iconic brand at such a pivotal time in its history,” said Steve Cirulis. “I believe there is a tremendous opportunity at Wendy’s to drive topline growth, franchisee profitability and improved shareholder value, and I am eager to get to work with our talented employees and franchisees to unlock the potential of our entire system.”

Wright continued, “I also want to thank Ken Cook for his contributions to our system. Ken was a steadfast leader at a critical time of change for Wendy’s, and I wish him well in his next chapter beyond Wendy’s.”

Chairman of the Board Art Winkleblack added, “The Board is grateful for Ken Cook’s impact on Wendy’s, serving as both CFO and Interim CEO in his tenure. Under his leadership, Wendy’s established the Project Fresh strategy, which was an instrumental start to the brand’s turnaround.”