New CEO of Burger King Corporation Names Robert T. Nilsen President

Burger King Corporation today announced that it has appointed Robert (Bob) T. Nilsen, former chief operating officer of Taco Bell Corporation, as president of Burger King Corporation, effective February 3. He will work closely with and report to Bradley D. Blum, chief executive officer, and will have responsibility for all system- wide operations, including company and Franchise restaurants. Nilsen will join Blum as a member of Burger King Corporation's Board of Directors.

Mr. Nilsen, 43, brings thirteen years of domestic and international quick service Restaurant general management and operations experience to the BURGER KING® system. During his tenure at Yum! Brands, Nilsen led turnaround teams in the U.S. for Taco Bell, as well as for KFC and Pizza Hut in Australia/New Zealand, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Southern Africa. For the past three years, Taco Bell, under Nilsen's leadership, has dramatically strengthened its U.S. restaurant operations. Taco Bell moved from 14th place to third place in QSR drive-thru quality ratings in two years, with significant improvements in speed of service and order accuracy. Through Nilsen's leadership in building strong customer-focused restaurant teams and his restaurant operations capability, Taco Bell posted dramatic operations improvements and sales increases in 2002.

Andre LaCroix, president, Burger King International, will continue to lead the company's international business working with Chief Executive Officer Brad Blum and President Bob Nilsen. LaCroix, who serves as an integral member of the Company's Executive Team, will report directly to Nilsen on a day-to-day basis. Also, reporting directly to Nilsen will be: Paul Novak, in his capacity as executive vice president, franchise operations, Rick Silva, senior vice president, U.S. company operations and Jim Hyatt, senior vice president, operations services and programs. Paul Novak will continue in his capacity as chief development officer, North America, reporting to Brad Blum.

"Bob Nilsen brings integrity, a breadth of franchise experience, a focus on people and customer satisfaction, and a proven background of operational and general management excellence," Blum said. "Bob partnered closely with franchisees and company operators to successfully turnaround QSR businesses on four continents. I very much look forward to working with Bob as we pursue the excellent potential for growing the BURGER KING® brand."

"My vision is to develop Burger King Corporation into a dynamic, world class brand. The appointment of Bob Nilsen, with his proven restaurant experience, operations expertise and turnaround capabilities will help us achieve this vision," Blum said.

"Brad and Bob will make an effective leadership team at Burger King Corporation, and having both of them on board is significant in the effort to move Burger King Corporation's growth process forward quickly," said a spokesperson representing the investor group that includes Texas Pacific Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Bain Capital. "Bob Nilsen is highly regarded for his exceptional leadership and operational capabilities in the quick service restaurant industry."

"BURGER KING® is one of the great icons of American brands and I am very enthusiastic about the opportunity to work with Brad, the Executive Team, our employees and our franchisees to take the company to new levels of partnership, operations excellence, growth and profitability," Nilsen said. "I am highly confident that together as a unified system, we can bring the required focus on our customers through quality and innovation that will allow us to deliver outstanding results.

"I am also very pleased to work with our investor group -- Texas Pacific Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Bain Capital. These companies are leaders in their industry and I have been particularly impressed with their commitment to excellence, their focus on building great teams and their desire to see Burger King Corporation achieve its full potential."

Nilsen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Utah and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He will relocate soon to Miami from California with his wife, Kathleen and their five children.

Burger King and its franchisees operated more than 11,450 restaurants in all 50 states and 58 countries and territories around the world, with 91% o BURGER KING® restaurants owned and operated by independent franchisees. Since the company's founding in Miami in 1954, the BURGER KING® brand has become recognized for the great taste of FLAME-BROILING, HAVE IT YOUR WAY® and the WHOPPER®. In fiscal year 2002, ending June 30, 2002, the BURGER KING® system had system-wide sales of $11.3 billion. Burger King Corporation is owned by the equity sponsor group comprised of Texas Pacific Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Bain Capital.