Litigation partner Jim Neale, a leader of McGuireWoods’ food and beverage industry team, is quoted in a Fortune magazine article discussing anticipated changes in Chipotle’s leadership following the food retailer’s food safety crisis last year. The article reports apparent signals by Chipotle co-CEO Steve Ells that a shake-up in the company’s board of directors may be coming, based on comments he made at a Barclays investor conference.
Neale commented on the company’s apparent struggle to implement adequate food safety measures to keep pace with its expansion.
“They replicated the mom and pop recipe, and that’s probably what contributed a lot to their success. But there’s a level of sophistication that you need if you’re going to do things on a large scale so you can respond to large-scale problems,” he said.
The Dec. 6 article, titled “Time to Spice Up Chipotle’s Board,” is available online.