Susan Senecal, President and CEO of TorQuest portfolio company, A&W Food Services of Canada (“A&W”), was awarded as the 2019 New CEO of the Year by the Globe & Mail’s Report on Business. This award recognizes a CEO with less than three years of tenure in his or her current role, who has had a significant impact on the company and its strategy.
Senecal spent over 25 years with A&W in a variety of roles and management positions, before she was named the CEO of A&W February 2018. During her nearly 28 years with A&W, Senecal has been part of nearly every right decision A&W has made to transform the chain of drive-in burger joints popular with baby boomers to a progressive, ever-expanding restaurant empire with nearly 1,000 locations – second only to McDonalds in the Canadian burger market. In her time as CEO, A&W has continued to focus on a younger audience – a strategy she helped develop in her previous role as chief marketing officer. Most notably, A&W has banished plastic straws and processed cheese and was the first restaurant to introduce Canadian customers to the Beyond Meat burger. More information on the award can be found here.