News

Chipotle CEO: Moving HQ to California will fuel growth

May 23, 2018

Chipotle Mexican Grill is moving its headquarters to Newport Beach, California.

"We have a tremendous opportunity at Chipotle to shape the future of our organization and drive growth through our new strategy," Brian Niccol, CEO, said in a press release. "In order to align the structure around our strategic priorities, we are transforming our culture and building world-class teams to revitalize the brand and enable our long-term success."

Over the next six months, Chipotle will transition its Denver and New York office functions to Newport Beach and Columbus, Ohio. Newport Beach will serve as the headquarters for the company's operations, business development, marketing, communications, finance, supply chain, food safety, technology, HR and other corporate functions. The support functions will be in the Shared Services Center in Columbus.

"We'll always be proud of our Denver roots where we opened our first restaurant 25 years ago. The consolidation of offices and the move to California will help us drive sustainable growth while continuing to position us well in the competition for top talent," Niccol said.

The move will affect approximately 400 employees in Denver and New York in Q4 2018, with some being offered relocation and retention packages. The 70,000 field operations and restaurant employees are not part of this reorganization.

By consolidating shared services at the Columbus office, Chipotle will grow its workforce at the location from 100 to over 250 employees. Consolidating in Columbus provides access to high-quality talent and offers cost advantages to support Chipotle's standardized business operations, according to the release.

"The standardization and consolidation of systems and processes into one location will greatly benefit our company and our shareholders," Chipotle CFO Jack Hartung said. "Through technology and the consolidation of talent, we'll create a world-class Shared Services Center with increased productivity and quality services supporting our employees and our restaurants."