Wendy's CEO Gordon F. Teter Dies Unexpectedly / Founder Dave Thomas to Serve as Senior Chairman / Special Management Council Formed / Jack Schuessler and Paul H

DUBLIN, Ohio (PROTEXT) - Wendy's International, Inc. (NYSE:WEN) announced earlier today that Chairman, Chief ExecutiveOfficer and President Gordon F. Teter, 56, died on Saturday,December 18, 1999, of sudden and unexpected natural causes. TheCompany made the announcement in a previously issued newsrelease. "Gordon was a great friend to all of us, a tremendous leaderand justifiably proud of the management team he assembled," saidR. David Thomas, Wendy's founder. "We will miss him dearly. "The entire team at Wendy's and Tim Hortons is 100 percentcommitted to carrying out the strategies developed by Gordon andhis executive management team. That includes building on thestrategy of 'Two Quality Brands, One Great Company'. It alsoincludes managing the business with a long-term approach andcontinuing our commitment to the basics -- quality food,consistent restaurant operations, familiar and predictableexperiences for our customers and outstanding relationships withour employees and franchisees," Thomas added. Thomas, who founded Wendy's in 1969, will serve as SeniorChairman and actively supervise the management of the Company.Reporting to Thomas will be: -- Chief Financial Officer Frederick R. Reed. -- Wendy's President and Chief Operating Officer JackSchuessler. -- Tim Hortons President and COO Paul House. "Jack and Paul will lead all day-to-day business functions forWendy's and Tim Hortons, respectively, including restaurantoperations, new store development, marketing, human resources,research, product development and quality assurance," saidThomas. "There will be no change in our business and we expectthat all of our employees, franchisees and suppliers will worktogether to ensure continuity over the coming months. "Fritz will continue to manage the finance, legal, treasuryand investor relations functions, and he will also superviseWendy's international division," added Thomas. "He has been anoutstanding addition to our team over the past three years." Thomas will be a member of a newly appointed specialChairman's Management Council that will include Ronald V. Joyce(Tim Hortons Co-Founder and Senior Chairman) as chair. Also onthe council will be Reed, Schuessler and House. "The role of themanagement council will be to work with our board of directors inevaluating and helping them fill the positions of Chairman andCEO," said Joyce. "Fritz, Jack and Paul worked closely withGordon Teter over the past several years and share his vision forthe future of our Company. "Dave and I will provide senior-level support to the entireorganization, review and work with the management team onstrategic planning and ensure that the special culture of ourWendy's and Tim Hortons organizations is maintained," addedJoyce. Special Chairman's Management Council: -- R. David Thomas, 67, founded Wendy's in 1969 and has 55years in the restaurant business, including six years as aKentucky Fried Chicken franchisee. He was elected to Wendy'sboard in 1969 and is a member of the executive, board membershipand finance committees. For the past several years Thomas hasserved as Senior Chairman of the Board and as the Company'sadvertising spokesperson. He will serve as Chairman and activelysupervise management. -- Ronald V. Joyce, 68, was the franchisee of the original TimHortons store in Hamilton, Ontario, which opened in 1965. Hebecame a full partner with Tim Horton in 1967, sole owner of thechain in 1975 and is currently Senior Chairman and Co-Founder ofTim Hortons. Joyce has 37 years in the restaurant business. Hewill serve as Chairman of the Company's executive managementstrategic planning committee. -- Frederick R. Reed, 51, is Chief Financial Officer andSecretary of the Company. He joined Wendy's in 1996 as ExecutiveVice President. Reed is a former partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymourand Pease LLP. He has 23 years of finance and legal experience.He earned a B.A. from Harvard University and a J.D. from The OhioState University College of Law. Reed is a member of theexecutive, finance and board membership committees of the board. -- John (Jack) T. Schuessler, 48, is President and ChiefOperating Officer of Wendy's, with responsibility for the UnitedStates and Canada. He joined Wendy's in 1976 and advanced througha series of restaurant operations positions including DistrictManager, Manager of Area Operations, Regional Director, DivisionVice President, Senior Vice President of the Northeast Divisionand most recently Executive Vice President of DomesticOperations. Schuessler is a graduate of Spring Hill College,Alabama. -- Paul D. House, 56, is President and COO of Tim Hortons,with responsibility for the chain in Canada and the U.S. Housejoined Tim Hortons in 1985 and held titles of Vice President ofMarketing, Senior Vice President of Operations and Executive VicePresident. He is a former Senior Vice President of Dairy QueenCanada, Inc. House graduated from McMaster University. Wendy's International, Inc. is one of the world's largestrestaurant operating and franchising companies with about $7billion in systemwide sales and two great brands -- Wendy's andTim Hortons. There are more than 5,500 Wendy's restaurants in theU.S., Canada and international markets. Tim Hortons has more than1,800 restaurants in North America. ots Original Text Service:Wendy's International, Inc. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.deContact: Denny Lynch, 614-764-3553, John Barker, 614-764-3044,john_barker@wendys.com, or Marsha Gordon, 614-764-3019, all ofWendy's International Web site: http://www.wendys.com

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