Burger King boss lands a whopper of a job: CEO of HJ Heinz
The first fruit of the acquisition of H.J. Heinz by the consortium of 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway is - a new boss for Heinz. Bernardo Hees, 43, will leave his role running Burger King to become CEO at H.J. Heinz , Burger King Worldwide announced today.
HEES: New boss at Heinz
He replaces Heinz CEO William Johnson, who in 15 years has turned Heinz into more of a global food company, selling its products across the world.
Hees cut costs aggressively at Burger King shortly after 3G bought the burger chain in 2010, said the Wall Street Journal He got rid of about half the 600 jobs at Burger King's Miami headquarters and eliminated the entire executive wing .
Burger King, home of The Whopper, is now doing rather well. In the first quarter of 2013 the company expects earnings per share to total 17 cents, 45-percent up on the same quarter last year. This is despite, in the U.S. and Canada, a same-store sales drop of 3 percent due to a “challenging macroeconomic environment and heightened competitive activity,” the company said .
Burger King chief financial officer Daniel Schwartz will take over the chief executive role at the fast food giant on July 1.
Hees will step into his new position at Pittsburgh-based Heinz upon completion of its acquisition by 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway, Nations Restaurant News reported. 3G Capital is parent company to Burger King.
Hees will remain a CEO at Burger King until the buy is completed or July 1 — whichever comes first, Burger King said in a statement. At that point , Burger King CFO Schwartz will take over as chief executive.
Effective immediately, Schwartz will become Burger King’s chief operating officer and will report to Hees. After taking on the top job at Heinz, Hees will continue to be Burger King vice chairman.
Hees and Schwartz have been with Burger King since 2010, when it was acquired by private equity firm 3G Capital.
Miami-based Burger King has nearly 13,000 locations worldwide.