September 1/Dublin, Ohio/Business Wire -- The Wendy's Company announced Emil J. Brolick will join Wendy's as president and chief executive officer, effective September 12, 2011. Brolick, who will relocate to the Dublin area, will also join the company's board of directors. He succeeds Roland Smith, who will step down from his role as president and CEO but serve as a senior advisor to the company during a transition period with Brolick through the end of the year. Smith will remain on the company's board of directors.
"We are thrilled to welcome Emil back to the Wendy's family," said Nelson Peltz, chairman of The Wendy's Company. "Emil is a proven brand builder in the restaurant industry who recently led the turnaround of Taco Bell and drove strong same-store sales growth. Emil was also one of the primary architects of Wendy's strategy in the late 1980s, which produced 16 consecutive years of same-store sales growth for the brand. Emil is the perfect CEO to lead Wendy's today -- he is joining Wendy's at a time when the company is performing well with strong sales momentum. Having recently sold Arby's, we are now focusing our resources on driving sales, profits and shareholder value at Wendy's through continued new product development, re-engineering of the core menu, international expansion and investment in the North America restaurants."