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Meij on Tuesday rejected talk that Domino’s had fallen out of favour with consumers aged 15 to 24. “I can assure you, our highest growth customer is the youngest group,” Meij said.

“There’s myth and legend around those themes that have made the papers for different investment profiles, but I can absolutely tell you from a market share point of view, from a customer account growth point of view … pizza [has] always been … the No.1 food consumed at uni.”

Domino’s chairman and Hungry Jack’s founder Jack Cowin thanked Meij for his leadership on behalf of the board.

“Don has done an exceptional job of delivering positive outcomes for all our stakeholders, including franchise partners, shareholders and employees,” Cowin said. “He leaves an impressive legacy.”

The company said the appointment of van Dyck, who was most recently Asia Pacific regional managing director at global foodservice business Compass Group, came after a global search that considered a number of candidates.

“It was natural we would consider him in the search process,” Cowin said. “His extensive experience in global food service, combined with a track record of successful transformations, makes him the ideal candidate.”

Van Dyck’s fixed salary will be $1.59 million – less than his predecessor who pocketed $1.78 million in fiscal 2024. He will also be entitled to $792,500 in share grants and a long-term bonus of up to another $1.59 million, taking his pay for the year to potentially close to $4 million, which next financial year could rise to as much as $4.76 million.

Six years ago, Meij topped the table of Australia’s highest-paid chief executives, taking home $36.8 million that year. In the 2024 financial year, Meij’s fixed pay represented 27 per cent of his total package. Nearly half of that was made up of long-term incentives, with the remainder split equally between short-term equity and cash linked to short-term incentives. The total package came to about $6.6 million.

Meij still holds 1,667,969 shares in Domino’s worth around $52,874,617.30, according to company’s 2024 annual report. Domino’s shares closed out the session on Tuesday over 6 per cent weaker at $31.60 as investors digested the news.

The “CEO change [is] not totally unexpected, but still a surprise,” said UBS retail and consumer analyst Shaun Cousins.

E&P retail analyst Phillip Kimber said Meij was a key figure for franchisees even though the market had been disappointed with the company’s performance in recent times.

“In one sense, [Domino’s] is in the business of selling franchises (that sell pizza) – thus franchisee relationships (including profitability) are crucial to the success of the business,” Kimber said in a note.

“Whilst the incoming CEO has strong credentials from the Compass Group, managing the relationship with franchisees and improving their profitability will be his key challenge.”

RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Toner said the management change was an “opportunity for a reset”.

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“Mark’s experience in restructuring and growing a Japanese business should provide a solid foundation to arrest the challenges Domino’s is experiencing in Japan,” Toner wrote in a note.

“We believe a turnaround in Japan and France [same store sales growth] and franchise profitability is a core prerequisite for Domino’s to execute on its longer-term growth strategy.”

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