RBI Appoints CFO, President of International, More

Restaurant Brands Int’l. announced a trio of leadership changes as it chases a three-prong goal. By 2028, the brand aims to reach 40,000 restaurants, $60 billion in systemwide sales and $3.2 billion in adjusted operating income.

Today, RBI—consisting of Popeyes, Burger King, Tim Hortons and Firehouse Subs—has over $40 billion in annual system-wide sales and over 30,000 restaurants in more than 120 countries and territories.

Effective immediately, the following leaders are entrusted with continuing to move the needle:

• Sami Siddiqui: The 11-year RBI emplooyee has been appointed chief financial officer, succeeding Matt Dunnigan, who is leaving the company. Previously, Siddiqui served eight years as brand president for Popeyes in Miami, all RBI brands in the Asia Pacific region and Tim Hortons in Toronto. Under his leadership, Popeyes achieved record sales, restaurant growth and profitability, says RBI, becoming a top chicken chain in the U.S. Siddiqui initially joined RBI as its head of finance and investor relations before becoming brand CFO for Tim Hortons and, later, Burger King. Prior to RBI, Siddiqui, who has an MBA from Harvard Business School, worked at Blackstone.

• Jeff Klein: Klein has been appointed as president of Popeyes in the U.S. and Canada, succeeding Siddiqui, who led the brand for nearly four years. Klein joined the Popeyes leadership team two years ago as chief marketing officer and brings 25 years of experience in marketing and consumer insights. Previously, he was the CMO at Little Caesars Pizza and spent 15 years at PepsiCo in senior marketing positions, including SVP and CMO for PepsiCo Foodservice. RBI says Klein is known for driving product innovation and integrating brand marketing campaigns with strong operational execution.

• Thiago Santelmo: Lastly, Santelmo was named president of international, succeeding David Shear, who will remain with RBI for a year as an advisor, assisting in the transition. Santelmo joined the company 11 years ago, focusing on growth in Latin America as general manager and then subsequently president for the region. He also has been a leader of the company’s growth in the EMEA region, focusing on new country entries and developing new master franchisee partnerships; he has served as president of the region for the last two years. Santelmo has an MBA from Harvard Business School.

The brand says it also will appoint a president of EMEA and chief marketing officer for Popeyes at a later date.