The Appointment
Wendy's (Nasdaq: WEN) has hired Tariq Hassan as its first-ever Chief Marketing and Customer Growth Officer, effective immediately, slotting a former McDonald's marketing executive into a newly structured role as the Dublin, Ohio-based chain pursues a broader turnaround plan. Hassan will report directly to President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Wright and sit on the Senior Leadership Team. Outgoing Chief Marketing Officer, U.S., Lindsay Radkoski, who joined Wendy's in 2011 and has held the CMO title since 2024, will leave after a transition period spanning the coming weeks.
Hassan's Background
Hassan brings more than three decades of marketing, digital transformation, and customer-experience leadership to the role. His most recent comparable position was Senior Vice President and U.S. Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at McDonald's, where he oversaw modernization of the chain's marketing infrastructure, strengthened digital loyalty engagement, and embedded consumer-first data into menu innovation and campaign strategy. Before McDonald's, he accumulated senior roles across consumer brands and agencies, building a record of brand repositioning and measurable customer-relationship growth. The appointment gives Wendy's — which operates more than 7,000 restaurants worldwide — a marketing chief with direct experience scaling loyalty and digital programs at the largest quick-service chain in the world.
Turnaround Context
The hire is explicitly framed as part of Wendy's ongoing recovery effort. Wright described Hassan's addition as "another meaningful step in returning Wendy's to profitable growth," pointing to the executive's ability to link cultural relevance, technology, and consumer insight to restaurant-level performance metrics. For operators and franchisees, that framing matters: Wendy's has faced sustained same-restaurant sales pressure in its domestic business, and brand differentiation in the crowded QSR segment has become a central competitive battleground as category leaders invest heavily in app-based loyalty ecosystems and value-driven messaging.
Hassan, in his own statement, signaled a food-first communications approach: "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... starting with the food itself." That framing aligns with Wendy's longstanding "Fresh Famous Food" quality positioning — a differentiation point the chain has historically leveraged against burger rivals — and suggests the incoming CMO intends to anchor brand storytelling in product-led narratives rather than purely promotional mechanics.
Wright also acknowledged Radkoski's 15 years of service, noting her contributions to customers, franchisees, and the broader organization. Her departure closes a chapter that included several high-profile marketing initiatives even as the company navigated a difficult macro environment for casual and quick-service dining.
For franchisees and food and beverage industry investors tracking the WEN recovery thesis, the key variable will be whether Hassan's data-driven, loyalty-focused playbook — tested at scale inside the McDonald's system — can translate to a meaningfully smaller but fiercely competitive competitor. Wendy's next earnings report will offer early context on whether the leadership rebuild is gaining traction with consumers.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
