Grubhub CEO Adam DeWitt to leave firm as owner searches for a buyer

Chicago-based Grubhub, the food delivery platform whose owner has it up for sale, said Monday that its chief executive is stepping down.

The company said Adam DeWitt, who became CEO two years ago and has spent 11 years in top roles at Grubhub, will step aside May 1. He will be succeeded by Howard Migdal, currently CEO of SkipTheDishes, a Canadian food delivery operation.

Both Grubhub and SkipTheDishes are units of Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway.com. In 2021, Just Eat Takeaway acquired Grubhub in a stock deal just as the pandemic offered potential revenue for companies that deliver meals to people cooped up at home.

But growth has leveled off while losses have continued. Just Eat Takeaway said that last year it took a charge of about $4.94 billion to write off the value of Grubhub and other prior acquisitions.

Just Eat Takeaway said it is exploring the partial or full sale of Grubhub.

During DeWitt’s time at Grubhub, it has grown to offer services in 4,000 U.S. cities while increasing annual revenue from $20 million to more than $2 billion. Its prominence has led to pushback from restaurants that argue the commissions Grubhub charges them eat into profits.

Grubhub, which hires delivery people for gig work, argues that it brings restaurants new business.

“It’s hard to leave Grubhub, but it’s the right time for me after 11 years,” DeWitt said in a news release. “I am incredibly proud of what this team has accomplished and will forever value the relationships I’ve forged here. Grubhub is in great hands with Howard and the Grubhub leadership team, and I’m excited to watch the company continue to thrive.”

Katie Norris, communications director at Grubhub, said Migdal will move to Chicago for his new post. She said the company contemplates no major changes in its Chicago-based workforce of about 1,000 people.

Migdal has more than 16 years in food delivery, having co-founded GrubCanada in 2008 as the country’s first such business with national scale.

“Grubhub is an incredible brand and has tremendous scale through its restaurant and delivery networks,” Migdal said. “I am excited to build on the foundation built by Adam and the team.”

A senior vice president at SkipTheDishes, Steve Puchala, will become interim CEO at the company, reporting to Migdal.

In its annual results for 2022, Just Eat Takeaway reported a loss of about $6 billion, mostly to cover write-offs for the prior acquisitions. It said that at the end of 2022, it had cash or cash equivalents on hand of around $2.2 billion.

The company said results are improving and it has a strong capital position that includes access to a revolving credit line of about $430 million.