Chipotle Seats Scott Boatwright as CEO

This week, seven-year Chipotle veteran Scott Boatwright officially took the reins as CEO of the brand. He also will join the board of directors.

The appointment comes after Boatwright held the interim CEO role for three months following the departure of prior CEO Brian Niccol, who is now Starbucks’ CEO. Niccol was Chipotle’s CEO since 2018, while Boatwright served as Chipotle’s chief operating officer since 2017.

To date, Boatwright has contributed to the strategy and growth of the business, says a press release. He led the integration of new technology into restaurants, sought to improve the overall guest experience, plus achieved high retention rates and more.

“We conducted a thorough and rigorous external search process that confirmed Scott is absolutely the best person to lead the next stage of growth at Chipotle,” says Scott Maw, Chipotle’s chairman of the board. “[This] announcement is an affirmation of both Scott’s leadership capability and our internal succession planning process. The board overwhelmingly believes Scott will deliver on the key strategies in place and position the company for continued success.”

Prior to Chipotle, Boatwright spent 18 years with Arby’s Restaurant Group in various leadership positions. He last served as senior vice president of operations, where he was responsible for the performance of over 1,700 Arby’s restaurants in numerous states.

Boatwright is a member of the National Restaurant Association’s Fast Casual Industry Council. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University.

As of Sept. 30, 2024, Chipotle had over 3,600 restaurants in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Germany and Kuwait.