StarTribune.com
dq050808

Home | Business

New CEO for Dairy Queen

Last update: May 7, 2008 - 11:28 AM

International Dairy Queen Inc., the Edina-based frozen-treat restaurant chain owned by Warren Buffett, said today that the company's chief executive, Chuck Mooty, will step aside effective July 1.

His successor as president and CEO will be John Gainor, 51, who has been Dairy Queen's chief supply chain officer since joining the company in 2003.

Mooty, 47, will remain chairman until the end of the year. He has led Dairy Queen since 2001 and has been with the company for 21 years.

Dairy Queen has been owned since 1998 by Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the investment company owned by Buffett. Berkshire doesn't break out Dairy Queen's numbers, but the chain has been investing heavily in new store concepts (notably "Grill & Chill" stores), advertising and international expansion.

Recent Business stories

Heinz to report its second-quarter results Tuesday - May 7, 2008
Heinz to report its second-quarter results Tuesday - H.J. Heinz Co. is scheduled to report earnings for its fiscal second quarter on Tuesday before the market opens. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period. More

Comment on this story   |   Read all 3 comments   |  Hide reader comments

Subscribe

Blog: Patent Pending

Lights out at U energy conference. Irony police notified.

Just as Lawrence Kazmerski, a top official at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, was about to give the keynote address at the University of Minnesota's annual E3 conference at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, the lights went out, bathing the audience in darkness and a deep sense of irony.

Recent posts