Burger King overhauls leadership teamBurger King overhauls leadership team

Ron Ruggless

Burger King Holdings Inc. said Monday it has made several changes to its senior management team following its acquisition by 3G Capital.

The New York-based and Brazilian-backed investment company took the nation's No. 2 burger chain private in a $4 billion deal that closed last week.

Burger King and 3G Capital earlier had said Bernardo Hees would take over as chief executive following the deal, while former CEO John Chidsey would serve as co-chairman with 3G managing partner Alex Behring.

On Monday, several other executive changes were made:

• Steve Wiborg was named executive vice president and president of North America Burger King. He joins the company from Heartland Food Corp., one of the system’s largest franchise operators, where he was president and chief executive.

Wiborg replaces Chuck Fallon, who had served as president of North American operations. Gladys DeClouet-Mims, who had been senior vice president of U.S. and Canada company operations, also has left the company, Burger King said.

• Jonathan Fitzpatrick was promoted to executive vice president of global operations, replacing Julio Ramirez. Fitzpatrick previously served as senior vice president of operations for the company's Europe, Middle East and Africa division.

• Greg Ryan was named executive vice president of Latin America and the Caribbean. Ryan had been a McDonald’s franchise owner in Brazil.

• Daniel Schwartz was named executive vice president and deputy chief financial officer. Schwartz most recently was a partner at 3G Capital.

• Heitor Goncalves was named executive vice president and chief information and performance officer. He previously worked for Ambev and InBev. He replaces former chief information officer Raj Rawal.

• Jose Tomas, who previously served as vice president of human resources, was promoted to executive vice president and chief human resources and communications officer. Exiting Burger King are former human resources chief Peter Smith and Amy Wagner, who had been senior vice president of investor relations and global communications.

Current Burger King executives who remain on the senior management team include:

• Anne Chwat as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. She has been in the post since September 2004. She is also president of the Have It Your Way Foundation.

• Natalia Franco as executive vice president and global chief marketing officer. She has been in the post since April.

• Peter Tan as executive vice president and president of the company's Asia Pacific division. He as been in that post since November 2005.

• Ben Wells as executive vice president and chief financial officer. He has held those roles since April 2006.

Burger King also said it was close to naming a new president for its Europe, Middle East and Africa division to replace outgoing executive Kevin Higgins.

Miami-based Burger King operates and franchises more than 12,150 restaurants worldwide.

Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].