Wendy’s U.S. president goes back to his old job

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Pete Suerken is resigning as president of the Wendy's U.S. market, according to a filing on Monday, prompting the company to eliminate the position and replace it with a chief operating officer.

But Suerken is not going far. He is going back to his old job as head of the fast-food chain's supply chain co-op.

Suerken was president and CEO of Quality Supply Chain Co-Op from 2021 to 2025, when he was plucked to lead Wendy's U.S. He is slated to remain president of Wendy's U.S. until Aug. 31, after which he will return to his previous position.

According to the filing, Wendy's has agreed to accelerate the vesting of some stock units he was awarded last year that were scheduled to vest in 2027.

He will also be paid a pro-rated amount of his annual cash incentive award. Wendy's in the filing said the awards are being given "in recognition of his service to the company at a critical time and to promote an effective transition."

The filing also sheds light on some of the plans Wendy's CEO Bob Wright has for the company.

Wright said on Wendy's last earnings call that the company was evaluating restructuring efforts. The chain is eliminating the position of president of its U.S. market and is creating a new COO position. Wendy's is actively recruiting the position.

That also continues a series of changes in the company's corporate structure.

Wendy's created the U.S. president position in 2019 as part of a restructuring, one that led to the elimination of the company's chief operating officer position.

The person who held that position? Bob Wright. That decision led to Wright's departure.

But Wendy's eliminated its U.S. president role in early 2023 as part of another restructuring.

Wendy's changed CEOs one year later and shortly thereafter the new CEO, Kirk Tanner, reinstated the U.S. president position, naming Abigail Pringle to the role. But she left immediately after Tanner's surprise departure 18 months later, and the company placed Suerken into the role.

There's little question that Wendy's is in need of a revitalization in the U.S., where same-store sales have declined in each of the past six quarters. And in the second quarter the chain's traffic fell 12.5% while the company's same-store sales were more than 1,500 basis points lower than Burger King's.

UPDATE: This story has been updated to correct that Wendy's president decided to leave and then the position was eliminated.