Burger King Crowns Turnaround Expert CEO = = = = Tuesday July 13, 10:58 AM EDT = By Deborah Cohen CHICAGO (Reuters) - Burger King Corp., the No. 2 U.S. hamburger chain, on= Tuesday named turnaround specialist Greg Brenneman as chief executive, r= eplacing Brad Blum, who left earlier this month because of strategic diff= erences with the company's directors. Brenneman, 42, is currently chairman and CEO of private equity firm TurnW= orks Inc. and is the former chief financial officer of Continental Airlin= es (CAL). He assumes his new post on Aug. 1, becoming Burger King's ninth CEO in 15= years. Analysts said Brenneman needs to move swiftly to win support from= Burger King's operator base, which has seen three of its 10 biggest fran= chisees file for bankruptcy protection in recent years due to heavy debt = and overexpansion. = "It looks like his background and history have been well affiliated with = turnarounds," said Harris Nesbitt analyst Matthew DiFrisco. "He needs to = not only turn around the financial operations, but also has to gain the t= rust of the franchisees, which is the ongoing struggle." DiFrisco said he does not expect to see growth from Burger King in the ne= xt six to 12 months, as the new CEO assesses the situation. There may eve= n be a string of store closings and other strategic moves to stem weaknes= s, he said. Burger King, which has about 7,700 restaurants in the United States, most= of which are franchised, is owned by a private equity group consisting o= f Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. T= he company trails larger rival McDonald's Corp. (MCD), which has about 13= ,000 U.S. stores. Shortly after Blum's arrival, he repositioned Burger King's flame-broiled= hamburgers as "fire-grilled" to keep pace with health-oriented marketing= by rivals such as McDonald's and Wendy's International Inc. (WEN), which= could overtake Burger King in the No. 2 spot. Burger King posted its biggest same-store sales gain in four and half yea= rs in May. Earlier this year, Burger King hired ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, = which is known for its quirky campaigns, after dumping WPP Group Plc's (W= PP) Young & Rubicam -- a move that has been well-received by both consume= rs and advertising experts. (With reporting by Emily Kaiser in Chicago) = =A92004 Reuters Limited. = Roger EWROPS