NEW YORK – An Iron Mountain High School graduate will be the next chief executive officer of The Wendy’s Co., an American holding company for the major fast food chain, Wendy’s.

Todd Penegor, 50, joined Wendy’s in June 2013 and has served as chief financial officer since September 2013. He will succeed Emil Brolick, 67, who has led Wendy’s for four years and plans to retire in May.

“I am honored to lead this great brand, and I’m grateful that we will continue to have the benefit of Emil’s expertise as a member of our board of directors,” Penegor said in a statement. “I am both excited and humbled by this opportunity.”

Penegor, a 1983 IMHS grad, previously worked at cereal maker Kellogg Co. and automaker Ford Motor Co. Wendy’s said it is looking outside the company for a new CFO.

Wendy’s, based in Dublin, Ohio, has been remodeling its stores and adding new menu items to position itself as a more premium fast food chain. It has more than 6,500 restaurants, making it the third largest hamburger chain in the world.

Brolick will work with Penegor to transition his duties in the first quarter of 2016, the company said. Brolick plans to serve on the board of directors upon his retirement to help ease the transition.

Penegor worked at Kellogg from 2000 to 2013 in roles including president of U.S. Snacks, chief financial officer of Kellogg Europe and chief financial officer of Kellogg USA. He was named head of Wendy’s international business in December 2014.

“Todd Penegor is a logical choice as he has had significant experience in operations and finance throughout his long career,” RBC Capital Markets analyst David Palmer told the Wall Street Journal, adding that the leadership change was largely expected.

Brolick became chief executive in September 2011, two months after the company sold most of its struggling Arby’s chain to a group of private-equity investors. He has led a revamp of Wendy’s menu that included new seasonal salads and such hit products as the pretzel bacon cheeseburger, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Under his tenure, the company also has remodeled its restaurants to be more modern and embarked on a plan to sell most of its company-owned restaurants to franchisees. Wendy’s in August said its plan was on track to reduce ownership of company-operated restaurants to about 5 percent of the overall total. In 2017, the first full year after it expects to complete its restaurant sales, 80 percent of Wendy’s earnings will come from franchisees’ royalty and rental fees.