New president at Burger King - Mikel Durham - Brief Article

Mikel Durham has been appointed head of Burger King North America, much to the annoyance of the Burger King franchisees. UK food and drinks conglomerate Diageo appointed Ms. Durham from her position as global strategy director at Guinness, but the National Franchisee Association representing around 80% of Burger King franchisees were "deeply disappointed" at the decision.

Diageo has a rapidly deteriorating relationship with its franchisees in the US, due to a trend of bringing management in from the Guinness division. The NFA has been trying to separate the burger chain from its parent company for some time, blaming its UK parent for poor sales and complaining that Diageo lacks support for the chain highlighted by a seven month delay in naming a marketing executive for Burger King North America.

Burger King generates around 10% of Diageo's revenue. Ms. Durham who, although branded as lacking in restaurant experience by the NFA, does have restaurant experience with Tricon Global Restaurants, will be responsible for the 8 000 US Burger King restaurants which are currently lagging behind arch rival McDonald's, which has a 43.1% share of the US fastfood hamburger market, compared to Burger King's 19.6%.

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