Burger king, founded in Miami in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton, serves almost 12 million customers a day

at more than 11,000 restaurants in 69 countries. However, since the early 1990s the profits and success of BK restaurants have steadily declined, while rivals McDonalds and Wendys grabbed its market share. While 10 CEOs passed through BK in 14 years, CEO number 11, Greg Brenneman, is finally turning things around. This charismatic, driven CEO has implemented new strategies that have boosted sales 6.8 percent in restaurants open more than a yearthe largest increase in more than ten years. The companys market share is also expected to show improvement this year after falling since 1999. To approach the issues facing BK, Brenneman took a simple path and initiated the go forward plan, which required a single sheet of paper to articulate. He set straightforward goals for the company: to earn money, bring in more customers and build enthusiasm in existing customers, and motivate BK employees. To reach those goals, he first lashed the costs of building new BK restaurants from $1.3 million to $970000 by recommending making new stores smaller. His idea was supported by research that suggested that most customers currently order food to go, so the new BK prototype has about half the previous number of seats. The kitchens of these new stores are also smaller to make preparation more efficient. IN addition, Brenneman wants the new stores built with materials readily available at Home Depot. Doing all of this may save up to 50 percent on the price of land. Which should enable franchisees to achieve profits more quickly. In addition to reducing the size of the new restaurants, the company has introduced a new industrial chic decoration scheme, which executives believe will be a major draw for customers. About 12 of the new stores were open by the fall of 2005. When Brenneman took the reins at BK, the company had just one project idea on the table. To take the company forward, he is determined that now there will always be at least 30 project ideas in the works. His first project was the Enormous Omelet Sandwich, which raised breakfast profits 20 percent. One of Brenenmans biggest challenges is soothing franchisees, who are vital to the firms continuing success. In particular, one group of franchisees is unhappy that a recent $340 million ad campaign targets teenage males at the expense of other market segments, especially women. While some franchisees worry that the advertising focus is too narrow, a spokeswoman for BK says that sales-the only way to measure success- have been up since the campaign began. Other issues of concern to franchisees relate to new menu items, pricing, and hours of operations. Given that 90% of BK restaurants are franchised, Brenneman clearly has work to do to settle these issues. Despite these issues, Brenneman is optimistic about BK future. There are signs to support his optimism. For example, customer satisfaction is at an all time high according to University of Michigans American Customer Satisfaction Index, at a time when McDonalds has seen customer satisfaction decline. In 2005 BK opened more restaurants than it closed-a first since the 1990s. The company is also opening new restaurants overseas, with new locations in Brazil and China. All told the company opened 300 to 350 international locations in 2005. Even given the challenges to be faced, employees and franchisees alike are rooting for Brenneman and success of BK. The company still has a way to go to return to the successful levels of the early 1990s, but Brenneman is certainly laying solid groundwork for success.