P.M. BRIEFING : Co-Founder of Wendy’s Retires

Robert L. Barney, chairman of Wendy’s International Inc., is retiring from the restaurant chain he helped build two decades ago, the company announced today.

Wendy’s said it has no immediate plans to name a successor. Barney leaves May 20, the company said.

Barney, 52, met Wendy’s founder R. David Thomas when the two worked at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Columbus in 1964.

Barney helped Thomas begin the Wendy’s hamburger chain, and served on its board of directors after the Nov. 15, 1969, founding in downtown Columbus.

He became president in 1971, when Wendy’s had two restaurants--it now has 3,800--and helped develop the company’s franchising system. He was named chief executive officer in 1980 and chairman of the board in 1982.

Wendy’s is generally seen as No. 3 behind McDonald’s and Burger King, but has suffered losses in recent years that, by some accounts, have placed it No. 4, behind Hardee’s Food Systems Inc. as well.