Dunkin’s international exec leaves after 4 months
Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc., the Canton company that operates the Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins chains, said today that its international president is leaving after four months on the job.
Dunkin’ Brands declined to say why Neal Yanofsky is leaving, but a company spokesman said it was a “mutually and amicably reached decision.’’
The Harvard-educated Yanofsky joined Dunkin’ Brands in May to be the first president of international operations, reflecting the company’s desire to expand overseas. Yanofsky was previously the chief executive of a wireless-products company called Generation Mobile and before that was president of Panera Bread Co.
Because Yanofsky was hired when Dunkin’ Brands was a private company, information about his compensation or a potential severance package wasn’t available.
Dunkin’ Brands, which also owns the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain, went public two months ago with plans to pay down debt so it could free up money for international growth.
The company currently makes more than three-quarters of its revenue in the United States. It wants to expand the Dunkin’ Donuts brand from its current overseas focus in Asia and into a bigger presence in Europe, beyond its base of Germany, Spain, and Russia. It also wants to expand the international reach of Baskin-Robbins, though the ice cream unit already gets more of its revenue and has more stores overseas than in the United States.
In a statement, chief executive Nigel Travis said Dunkin’ Brands remains on track to add 450 to 500 new restaurants outside the US this year. The company has more than 16,000 locations worldwide, about 57 percent of them in the US.
Dunkin’ Brands said it has started a search for Yanofksy’s replacement. For now, Travis will run the international unit of Dunkin’ Donuts and chief financial officer Neil Moses will run the international unit of Baskin-Robbins.
The company made two other management changes. John Costello, the chief global marketing and innovation officer, will take direct responsibility for worldwide marketing and product innovation for both Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins. Paul Reynish will move from international marketing vice president of Baskin-Robbins to chief marketing officer for both brands.
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