Strengthened Leadership Team Marks Next Step in Company Turnaround Plan
DUBLIN, Ohio, Aug. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wendy's Company (Nasdaq: WEN) announced the appointment of Tariq Hassan to the newly created role of Chief Marketing and Customer Growth Officer, effective immediately. He will report to President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Wright and serve on the Wendy's Senior Leadership Team. Lindsay Radkoski, who has served as Chief Marketing Officer, U.S. since 2024, will depart the organization after a transition period with Hassan over the coming weeks.
Hassan brings more than three decades of global marketing, customer experience, digital transformation and brand-building leadership to Wendy's, with deep experience across restaurants, technology and consumer brands. He previously served as Senior Vice President, U.S. Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at McDonald's, where he helped modernize marketing, strengthened digital and loyalty engagement, and put customer-first insights at the center of culturally relevant campaigns and menu innovation. Prior to McDonald's, Hassan has held several senior leadership roles with prominent U.S. consumer brands and agencies where he built an impressive track record of repositioning brands, improving the customer experience and using data-driven marketing to create deeper customer relationships and measurable business impacts.
"Tariq's appointment is another meaningful step in returning Wendy's to profitable growth," said Bob Wright. "He is a proven brand and team builder with a distinctive ability to connect culture, technology and consumer insight to drive measurable growth. He has demonstrated the impact that highly effective marketing, digital activation, menu innovation and culturally relevant brand engagement can have on restaurant performance and customer loyalty. He will be instrumental in sourcing and developing talent and building new capabilities in the organization to help Wendy's recapture its position as the quality leader in the QSR industry."
"Wendy's is an iconic American brand that has something special most brands spend decades trying to build, a real point of view that our customers genuinely feel," said Hassan. "My focus will be on reigniting that passionate connection with our brand to show up more powerfully in every experience, everywhere our fans meet us. Working alongside Bob, the leadership team, our franchisees and restaurant teams, I see enormous opportunity to reshape how we tell this story, starting with the food itself, to drive growth for our customers, our franchisees, and our shareholders."
Wright also recognized Lindsay Radkoski for her service and leadership. "On behalf of the Wendy's Board and leadership team, I want to thank Lindsay for her many contributions over the past 15 years," Wright said. "Lindsay's commitment to Wendy's and dedication to our customers, franchisees and Company have always been a hallmark of her service. We are grateful that she will support a smooth transition and wish her continued success."
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains certain statements that are not historical facts, including statements regarding our anticipated future performance, growth and value creation. Those statements constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act"). The forward-looking statements are based on our expectations at the time such statements are made, speak only as of the dates they are made and are susceptible to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not limited to, the factors identified in the "Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Projections" and "Risk Factors" sections of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For all forward-looking statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Reform Act.
About Wendy's
The Wendy's Company (Nasdaq: WEN) and Wendy's® franchisees employ hundreds of thousands of people across more than 7,000 restaurants worldwide. Founded in 1969, Wendy's is committed to the promise of Fresh Famous Food, Made Right, For You, delivered to customers through its craveable menu including made-to-order square hamburgers using fresh beef*, and fan favorites like the Spicy Chicken Sandwich and nuggets, Baconator®, and the Frosty® dessert. Wendy's supports the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption®, established by its founder, which seeks to dramatically increase the number of adoptions of children waiting in North America's foster care system. Learn more about Wendy's at www.wendys.com. For details on franchising, visit www.wendys.com/franchising. Connect with Wendy's on X, Instagram and Facebook.
*Fresh beef available in the contiguous U.S. and Alaska, as well as Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the UK, and other select international markets.
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SOURCE The Wendy's Company
