- After around seven years in the position
- Praise, thanks and good wishes for Boennighausen
- Drew Madsen taking over temporarily
- Search for a successor
(exechange) — Broomfield, Colorado, November 10, 2023 — This news came shortly before Veterans Day. Dave Boennighausen, chief executive of Noodles, leaves his position. As announced by Noodles & Co. in a news release on Friday, November 10, 2023, Dave Boennighausen leaves his post as chief executive officer at the fast-casual restaurant, after around seven years in the role, effective immediately.
Generally speaking, it raises questions when a CEO leaves his post abruptly.
Noodles will undertake a search for a successor.
Dave Boennighausen’s duties as CEO will be taken over temporarily by Drew Madsen, most recently President at Panera Bread Co., as interim Chief Executive Officer.
Drew Madsen is about 21 years older than Dave Boennighausen.
Already a director
Madsen has already been a member of the board of directors of Noodles. Generally speaking, most director-turned-CEO appointments occur following a sudden resignation of the outgoing CEO and signal a lack of preparedness on the company’s part to groom internal talent. Directors-turned-executives represent a blend of outsider and insider.
They don’t have the constraints of a pure insider when it comes to leading painful changes or making unpopular decisions, and they have more company knowledge than a pure outsider.
Having been a director, Madsen understands the expectations and dynamics of the board and has knowledge of Noodles’s organization, risk-management practices and strategy.
“Decision by the Board”
Noodles did not give an explicit reason for Dave Boennighausen’s departure from the CEO post. Noodles stated: “Madsen’s appointment follows the decision by the Board to transition to new leadership, resulting in Dave Boennighausen’s departure as the Company’s CEO.”
Precise information regarding Dave Boennighausen’s future plans was not immediately available.
Share price decline since November 2021
The announcement follows a decline in Noodles & Co.’s share price of 80% since November 2021.
In the position of CEO since 2016
Dave Boennighausen became CEO of the Company in 2016.
Dave Boennighausen has served as the Company’s CEO since June 2017 and as interim CEO from July 2016 through June 2017.
He has been a member of the Company’s Board of Directors since August 2015.
Boennighausen served as the Company’s CFO from July 2012 through his appointment as permanent CEO in June 2017.
He has held various roles at the Company, including Vice President of Finance and Executive Vice President of Finance, since joining the Company in 2004.
He began his career with May Department Stores.
He holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and received a BS degree in Finance and Marketing from Truman State University.
No statement by Dave Boennighausen
In the release announcing his departure as CEO of Noodles & Co., Dave Boennighausen received praise, thanks and good wishes.
The announcement of his departure as CEO does not include a statement by Dave Boennighausen.
Push-out Score for Dave Boennighausen’s move determined
The Push-out Score indicates on a scale of 0 to 10 how likely it is that Dave Boennighausen was pushed out or felt pressure to leave his position.
exechange reached out to Noodles and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 46.2023 ($).