Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. Announces Appointment of Interim CEO; Provides Strategic Update
Danny Meisenheimer interim CEO and President of the Company. Mr.
Tim Taft is retiring as CEO and President, and
resigning as a director effective
As previously announced, a committee of independent directors of the Board has already commenced a search for a permanent successor to Mr. Taft. This committee is being chaired by
Stacey Rauch and includes
Barry Alperin and
Steve Elker. The committee has retained the services of an
executive search firm,
Mr. Meisenheimer has been Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Pollo Tropical since 2013. Mr. Meisenheimer previously served as Chief
Brand Officer of Pollo Tropical in 2012. Prior to joining Pollo
Tropical, Mr. Meisenheimer was Chief Operating Officer at
Brand Officer at
While the Company is continuing to review its strategic plan, the
Company has decided to suspend additional development of Pollo Tropical
restaurants in
Additionally, taking into account the current challenging market conditions, the Board has reevaluated the previously announced separation of Taco Cabana and concluded that continued brand ownership is in shareholders’ best interest. Accordingly, the Company will suspend its search for a Taco Cabana brand CEO. Separately,
Todd Coerver, Chief
Operating Officer and Vice President of Taco Cabana, has resigned from
the Company, effective
Mark Phillips as interim Chief Operating Officer for Taco Cabana. Mr. Phillips has been with Taco Cabana for over 20 years, and has served in various leadership positions including as Vice President Operations since 2012.
Danny Meisenheimer, Fiesta Interim CEO said, “I am honored to lead
Fiesta and intend to work closely with the Board to advance the
Company’s strategic initiatives. I have the utmost confidence in our
management team and its ability to execute on our business plan,
including continued Pollo Tropical restaurant development in
Jack A. Smith, Fiesta Chairman of the Board, said, “Considering the persistent challenging market conditions impacting the restaurant industry as a whole, and constructive feedback from investors, we have decided it is in the best interests of all shareholders to maintain ownership of the Taco Cabana brand. Our entire focus remains on taking proactive steps to maximize long-term shareholder value, and our priority in this process involves identifying a seasoned industry professional to serve as Fiesta’s permanent CEO. The Board has full confidence in Danny’s ability to lead the Company during this interim period.”
About
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained in this news release,
the matters addressed are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements, written, oral or otherwise made, represent Fiesta's
expectation or belief concerning future events. Without limiting the
foregoing, these statements are often identified by the words "may,"
"might," "believes," "thinks," "anticipates," "plans," "expects,"
"intends" or similar expressions. In addition, expressions of Fiesta's
strategies, intentions or plans are also forward-looking statements.
Such statements reflect management's current views with respect to
future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties, both known and
unknown. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements as there are important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking
statements, many of which are beyond Fiesta's control. Investors are
referred to the full discussion of risks and uncertainties as included
in Fiesta's filings with the
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