Jack in the Box, the San Diego-based fast-food chain, needs a new leader after its CEO of five years announced his resignation Monday.
Darin Harris, who has served as chief executive officer since 2020, has accepted a new position outside of the restaurant industry, the company said. He will stay on with Jack in the Box as a consultant until March 14.
When Harris took the helm of Jack in the Box, the company was at an inflection point.
The company’s previous CEO, Leonard Comma, was at odds with franchisees. After Jack in the Box pivoted its model and significantly reduced the number of company-owned and operated restaurants, franchisees called for Comma’s resignation.
San Diego restaurant analyst John Gordon said that Harris joined amid “a full-fledged U.S. franchisee revolt underway due to poor store returns and perceived lack of corporate focus.” He credited Harris and his team for managing to address and improve those critiques regarding the culture at headquarters and the company’s overall focus.
“However, the overall business did not improve,” Gordon said in an email to the Union-Tribune. “Jack in the Box was not able to produce meaningful net new store growth, and the stock price has now declined 70% from its peak (in) 2021 … The $575 million 2022 Del Taco acquisition has been a drag on profits thus far.”
Jack in the Box is one of the nation’s largest hamburger chains with approximately 2,200 restaurants across 23 states and Guam. It also owns Del Taco, the second-largest Mexican American fast-food restaurant chain in the U.S.
But, a new permanent leader for the fast food chain will still have to contend with industry-wide challenges, Gordon explained.
He said there’s immense competition in the quick-service hamburger and taco business sector, which is already difficult. In California, a nearly 20% wage hike went into effect last year, specifically for fast food workers.
“Those conditions will not change,” Gordon said.
During the transition, Chief Financial Officer Lance Tucker has taken the role of interim-CEO, effective Feb. 24. Tucker rejoined Jack in the Box as head of finance in January; he previously held the position from 2018 to 2020.
He will receive a $250,000 pay bump, bringing his annual base salary to $900,000 until the board determines an end date, according to SEC filings. Tucker was also granted one-time restricted stock, tied to performance, worth about $500,000.
Additionally, Dawn Hooper, the company’s senior vice president and controller, has been appointed interim principal financial officer and principal accounting officer. Her base salary will increase $19,500 per month during this transition period.
The San Diego-based company reported first quarter earnings for the fiscal year 2025 on Tuesday. Jack in the Box reported quarterly net income of about $33.7 million, which was down about 13% from the same period last year. Total revenue was down about 3.7% year over year, which the company attributed as “primarily the result of the Del Taco refranchising transactions.”
“The first quarter saw a good start to top-line performance and bottom-line earnings flow through as we battled through a difficult industry-wide macro environment,” Tucker said in the earnings announcement. “In my new role, I will be continuing to assess capital allocation, investments and ways to accelerate free cash flow — all while executing on our fundamentals to ensure we regain our sales momentum as we move through 2025.”