Jack Hartung

Jack Hartung
Born	John R. Hartung
Nationality	American
Occupation	Business executive
Title	President and Chief Strategy Officer, Chipotle Mexican Grill (until 2025)
Employer	Tesla, Inc. (Board of Directors)
Known for	Former CFO and President of Chipotle Mexican Grill

John R. "Jack" Hartung is an American business executive who served as a senior leader at Chipotle Mexican Grill for more than two decades. He is best known for his tenure as the company's chief financial officer, a role he held during a period of significant expansion that saw the fast casual restaurant chain grow from a regional operation into a publicly traded company with thousands of locations across the United States and internationally. In his later years at Chipotle, Hartung took on the additional titles of President and Chief Strategy Officer. In May 2025, Chipotle announced that Hartung had set a retirement date from the company. That same month, Tesla, Inc. announced that Hartung would join its board of directors and audit committee, effective June 1, 2025. Hartung's career trajectory at Chipotle, spanning from the company's early growth phase through its initial public offering, food safety crises, and subsequent recovery, made him one of the most prominent financial executives in the American restaurant industry.

Career

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Jack Hartung's career is most closely associated with Chipotle Mexican Grill, the fast casual restaurant chain founded by Steve Ells in 1993 in Denver, Colorado. Ells had been inspired to open the restaurant after visiting taquerias and burrito shops in San Francisco's Mission District while working as a chef, seeking to demonstrate that fresh ingredients could be used to serve food quickly. Hartung joined the company as its chief financial officer and became a central figure in shaping the financial strategy that guided Chipotle through several transformative phases of growth.

When McDonald's Corporation became a major investor in Chipotle in 1998, the chain had only 16 restaurants, all located in Colorado. The investment from McDonald's provided the capital necessary for rapid expansion, and by the time McDonald's fully divested itself from Chipotle in 2006, the chain had grown to over 500 locations. As CFO, Hartung was responsible for overseeing the company's financial operations during this period of expansion, including the company's initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.

Chipotle's growth continued at a rapid pace in the years following the McDonald's divestiture. The company distinguished itself in the fast casual segment through its commitment to sourcing ingredients from what it described as responsibly raised animals and local produce. By 2015, Chipotle had more than 2,000 locations, with a net income of US$475.6 million and a workforce of more than 45,000 employees. Hartung served as CFO throughout this entire trajectory, providing financial stewardship as the company's revenues and store count grew substantially.

The company also pursued distinctive marketing strategies during Hartung's tenure as CFO. Chipotle partnered with musicians and cultural figures on advertising campaigns that sought to differentiate the brand from traditional fast food competitors. The company sponsored events and created content that emphasized its "Food with Integrity" sourcing philosophy. These marketing efforts, combined with the company's financial performance, contributed to Chipotle's status as one of the most prominent examples of the fast casual dining concept in the United States.

Hartung also oversaw the company's financial response to significant challenges, including food safety incidents that affected Chipotle's sales and reputation in the mid-2010s. The company's subsequent recovery required substantial investment in food safety protocols and marketing efforts to rebuild consumer confidence. Through these periods, Hartung remained a consistent presence in the company's leadership, frequently appearing on quarterly earnings calls and at investor conferences to communicate Chipotle's financial results and strategic direction.

Transition to President and Chief Strategy Officer

In the later stages of his career at Chipotle, Hartung's role expanded beyond the traditional CFO function. He assumed the titles of President and Chief Strategy Officer, reflecting his broader involvement in the company's overall strategic direction. This transition placed Hartung in a position to influence not only the company's financial planning but also its operational strategy, unit growth plans, and long-term competitive positioning in the fast casual restaurant market.

By the time Hartung's retirement was announced in May 2025, Chipotle had grown to operate more than 4,000 restaurant locations. The company had restaurants in 48 states and the District of Columbia, with a workforce that had expanded to approximately 130,000 employees. This represented an enormous increase from the 16-restaurant chain that existed when McDonald's first invested in the late 1990s, and Hartung's more than two-decade tenure as a senior executive made him one of the longest-serving members of Chipotle's leadership team.

On May 6, 2025, Chipotle announced that it had hired Jason Kidd as its new chief operating officer and that Hartung had set a date for his retirement from the company. The announcement signaled a planned leadership transition, with the company bringing in new operational leadership while Hartung prepared to step back from his day-to-day role.

Tesla Board Appointment

On May 16, 2025, Tesla, Inc. disclosed in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had elected Jack Hartung to its board of directors and its audit committee, with an effective date of June 1, 2025.

The appointment was reported by multiple major business and technology news outlets. CNBC described Hartung as a "longtime Chipotle executive" in its coverage of the announcement. Reuters noted that Hartung would be joining both the board and the audit committee. Business Insider emphasized his two decades of service as Chipotle's CFO as a key qualification for the role, reporting that "Jack Hartung, who served as CFO of the Mexican fast-food chain for two decades, will join Tesla's board in June."

TechCrunch noted the timing of Hartung's appointment in the context of Tesla's own ventures into the food service industry, reporting that the appointment came "ahead of Tesla Diner launch," a reference to Tesla's plans to open a restaurant concept. This connection between Hartung's extensive restaurant industry experience and Tesla's emerging food service ambitions was cited by several outlets as a potential factor in the appointment.

Yahoo Finance reported on the appointment using Hartung's full legal name, identifying him as "John R. (Jack) Hartung" in its coverage of the Tesla SEC filing. The Teslarati technology news site reported that "Tesla has welcomed Chipotle president Jack Hartung to its Board of Directors" and that he would "officially start his tenure at the electric vehicle maker on June 1."

Hartung's appointment to the Tesla board represented a significant post-Chipotle role, placing him in a governance position at one of the world's most valuable and closely watched public companies. His financial expertise and experience managing the growth of a major consumer-facing brand were cited across media reports as relevant qualifications for the board seat, particularly his service on the audit committee, which oversees a public company's financial reporting and internal controls.

Chipotle Mexican Grill: Company Context

Chipotle Mexican Grill, the company with which Hartung's career is most closely identified, was founded by Steve Ells on July 13, 1993. The company is an American multinational chain of fast casual restaurants specializing in bowls, tacos, and Mission burritos made to order in front of the customer. It was one of the first chains in the fast casual restaurant category, a segment positioned between traditional fast food and casual dining.

The company's name derives from chipotle, the Nahuatl name (from chilpoctli) for a smoked and dried jalapeño chili pepper. Ells founded the restaurant after being inspired by the taqueria culture he encountered in San Francisco's Mission District while working as a professional chef. His founding concept centered on demonstrating that fresh ingredients could be used to serve food quickly, a principle that guided the company's operational philosophy throughout Hartung's tenure.

Under the financial leadership of Hartung and the operational leadership of Ells and subsequent CEOs, Chipotle grew from a single Denver restaurant into a publicly traded corporation with a presence in nearly every U.S. state. The company's growth trajectory included the pivotal McDonald's investment period (1998–2006), during which the chain expanded from 16 locations in Colorado to more than 500 nationwide. Following McDonald's divestiture, Chipotle continued its expansion as an independent public company, reaching more than 2,000 locations by 2015 and surpassing 4,000 locations by 2025.

Chipotle also pursued marketing and sponsorship strategies that set it apart from competitors. The company sponsored sports teams and events, including cycling and professional sports partnerships. It developed branded entertainment content, including animated short films featuring music by artists such as Fiona Apple and Karen O, which promoted the company's sourcing philosophy. The company's "Farm Team" loyalty program and marketing innovations were covered in business media throughout the period of Hartung's financial leadership.

The company's relationship with its marketing and advertising partners also evolved during Hartung's CFO tenure. In 2010, Chipotle ended its relationship with its previous advertising agency and shifted to new creative approaches that emphasized its food sourcing narrative. This period saw Chipotle develop campaigns that positioned it as an alternative to conventional fast food, including collaborations with documentary filmmakers and food industry commentators.

Recognition

Hartung's long tenure as CFO of one of the fastest-growing restaurant companies in the United States brought him significant visibility within the financial and business communities. His appointment to the Tesla board of directors in May 2025 was itself a form of recognition of his financial expertise and corporate governance experience, as noted by multiple business news outlets.

The breadth of media coverage surrounding Hartung's Tesla board appointment reflected his standing as a recognized figure in American corporate finance. Reports from CNBC, Reuters, Business Insider, TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance, and Teslarati all highlighted his long record at Chipotle as a primary qualification for the board seat. His selection for the audit committee, which requires specific financial expertise under SEC regulations, further underscored his credentials as a financial executive.

Throughout his career at Chipotle, Hartung was a regular presence at investor conferences and on earnings calls, serving as one of the primary voices communicating the company's financial performance and strategic vision to Wall Street analysts and institutional investors. His role in guiding the company through periods of both rapid growth and significant operational challenges, including food safety crises and the COVID-19 pandemic, placed him among the most experienced CFOs in the American restaurant sector.

Legacy

Jack Hartung's career at Chipotle Mexican Grill spans one of the most notable growth stories in the American restaurant industry. When he joined the company, Chipotle was a small regional chain; by the time of his announced retirement in 2025, it had become a multinational corporation with more than 4,000 locations and approximately 130,000 employees. His tenure encompassed the company's transition from a McDonald's-backed operation to an independent public company, its rise as a defining example of the fast casual restaurant category, and its navigation through food safety challenges and market pressures.

The financial strategies employed during Hartung's time as CFO contributed to Chipotle's position as one of the most valuable restaurant companies in the world. The company's stock performance, unit growth trajectory, and ability to generate significant net income — reaching $475.6 million by 2015 — reflected the financial discipline that Hartung brought to the organization over more than two decades.

Hartung's transition from Chipotle to the Tesla board of directors in 2025 illustrated the transferability of his financial and strategic expertise beyond the restaurant industry. TechCrunch's observation that his appointment coincided with Tesla's own ambitions in the food service space suggested that his restaurant industry experience could prove directly relevant to Tesla's strategic planning. His placement on Tesla's audit committee further demonstrated the value placed on his financial governance capabilities by one of the world's largest and most scrutinized public companies.

As a long-serving CFO who helped guide a single-concept restaurant chain from fewer than two dozen locations to a global brand with thousands of restaurants, Hartung's career represents a case study in sustained financial leadership during a period of rapid corporate growth in the American food service industry.