Shake Shack’s Finance Chief to Depart

Ms. Comonte will remain in her current role through May 7 to oversee Shake Shack’s financial reporting for the fiscal first quarter, and to help with the transition. The company said it is in the process of retaining an outside firm to search for her successor, and the process will be led by a subcommittee of the board of directors. Ms. Comonte’s tasks will be shared among other members of the executive leadership until a replacement is named, Shake Shack said.

Ms. Comonte joined Shake Shack after holding CFO roles at digital media company Getty Images Inc. and McCann Worldgroup, a subsidiary of Interpublic Group of Cos., a publicly traded advertising company. Ms. Comonte has also served as Shake Shack’s president since October 2019.

“I’m thrilled to see her take on a CEO role and our Shack team will be rooting for her every success,” Chief Executive Randy Garutti said.

Shack Shack, like other restaurant chains, said the pandemic hit its urban stores hard. The company last spring said it received $10 million in federal coronavirus aid but returned it after raising additional funds from investors.

The fast food chain is building its first drive-through restaurant in Orlando, Fla., to try new formats and boost sales. The company aims to develop as many as eight drive-throughs by the end of next year, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Shake Shack earlier this month raised $225 million from investors through a private placement. The company reported $522.9 million in revenue for the year ended Dec. 30, down 12.1% compared with the prior-year period. The company booked a net loss of $42.2 million for the year compared with net income of $19.8 million the year before.

Shake Shack didn’t immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

—Heather Haddon contributed to this article.

Write to Nina Trentmann at [email protected]