Chipotle’s new brand chief gave fast-food burgers buzz. Now he’s coming for fast-casual burritos

Fernando Machado is best known for his stunt-driven Burger King work. Will his irreverence find success at Chipotle?

Chipotle Mexican Grill needed to do something. In February, the fast-casual restaurant brand reported that traffic to its restaurants fell for the fourth straight quarter to end 2025, and it was projecting flat same-store sales growth for 2026. At that point, the company’s stock had dipped by about 33% over the last year.