Thomas Kelly, the chief executive of Honest Burgers, will transition to a chair role starting in September 2024.
The former McDonald’s and Costa Coffee executive was appointed in January 2024, tasked with leading the burger restaurant through 'its next exciting phase of growth.'
In his new role, Kelly will also be responsible for 'steering the board through the next phase of the brand’s growth.'
Current chair Spencer Skinner of Active will continue to serve on the board as a non-executive director.
Kelly will step down from his executive operational leadership role to concentrate on other opportunities.
Earlier this year, Kelly stated that the chain aims to quadruple its number of restaurants by 2030 and may adjust its format to facilitate further expansion beyond London.
Honest Burgers said: “We believe that Thomas is best placed to lead this strategic direction as chair, committing to the long-term plan. At the same time this allows him to pursue other interesting projects.”
In the interim, Matt Brandon, the chief financial officer of Honest Burgers, will step in as acting chief executive.
The company is now actively seeking “an outstanding candidate” to assume its daily leadership.
The company said: “Whilst this search continues we have great confidence that Matt will lead and build on our current high growth trajectory.”
Honest Burgers reported 22 consecutive months of like-for-like sales growth, driven by an increase in covers.
In the first six months of this year, sales increased by 14%, resulting in a more than 50% improvement in EBITDA performance.
Honest Burgers was established by friends Tom Barton and Philip Eeles in Brighton in 2009 and has since grown to 39 locations across the UK.