Brian Niccol, the CEO Who Got Chipotle Sizzling Again
The restaurant chain’s stock price is up about 75% this year and traded at a record high as it rebounds from a food-safety crisis.
Brian Niccol, CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.
Photographer: Shaughn and John
Niccol’s turnaround of Chipotle would have been hard to imagine when he got the job in February 2018. The company had lost more than $16 billion in market value after outbreaks of E. coli and norovirus made hundreds of customers sick in multiple states, raising questions about its food-safety practices. The brand was so badly tarnished that some analysts wondered whether Chipotle could ever recover.
But the chain, which once disrupted the fast-food industry by offering customized burritos stuffed with options such as fresh guacamole and responsibly sourced pork, has been one of the best stocks in the S&P 500 this year. Same-stores sales have accelerated each quarter for a year. The company has been buoyed by Niccol’s push into delivery, a focus on fundamentals (promotions such as milkshakes and avocado tostadas, digital ordering, and faster service times), and perhaps most important, an absence of foodborne illnesses.