Nation’s Restaurant News: Chipotle Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer Resigns

Effective Thursday, Mark Crumpacker will resign as Chipotle Mexican Grill Chief Marketing Officer, according to a recent Nation’s Restaurant News article. In January of this year, Crumpacker had signed a retention agreement that he will keep after his resignation which includes a $600,000 retention bonus and 26 weeks of his base salary. He has been with the brand since 2009, but in 2016 pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drug possession charges.

Crumpacker’s resignation comes only one week after the announcement of Chipotle’s new CEO Brian Niccol, who was previously at Taco Bell. Former CEO and now executive chairman Steve Ells is still with the company, helping the brand try to overcome a series of foodborne illness outbreaks that Crumpacker was not able to separate from with branding efforts. As of December, the chain has 2,406 restaurants and in the fourth quarter of 2017, same-store sales fell 0.9 percent.