Pizza Express has announced the appointment of Paula MacKenzie as CEO – seven months after David Campbell stepped down from the role.
MacKenzie will officially begin her new job on 6 June, having previously been MD of KFC UK & Ireland.
She has 20 years’ experience in the food and drink industry, beginning in early 2002 at Diageo as a trading analyst. After three years at the booze giant, she moved to GSK to be finance manager for the likes of Ribena and Horlicks (brands that were later sold to Suntory and Aimia Foods respectively).
Her two-year stint at GSK was followed by senior roles at Innocent Drinks, as head of commercial finance for four years, and KFC UK&I, which she joined in summer 2011 as director of supply chain management.
After holding titles including business development director and chief financial officer, she was promoted by the fried chicken behemoth in spring 2017 to MD – the position she held until March 2022.
As CEO of Pizza Express, MacKenzie – who is also a non-executive director at B&M Retail and an advisory board member at fintech charity Pennies – will lead a team of 10,000 people. She and the senior management team will command such projects as growing the restaurant chain’s loyalty app and refurbishing its outlets.
Her appointment comes after previous CEO David Campbell departed in October 2021, citing personal reasons. His role was temporarily filled by MD Zoe Bowley and CFO Jo Bennett.
MacKenzie had “a terrific track record of performance and importantly is a champion of equality, diversity and inclusion” said Pizza Express chairman Allan Leighton.
She would be “joining at an exciting time for Pizza Express, and will work with our leadership team to drive priorities for growth, including an increased customer focus led by rapid digital transformation”.
MacKenzie added: “As someone who thrives on bringing brands to life, I’m thrilled to be working with Allan and the whole team at Pizza Express, leading this brand and business through its next chapter of growth. I cannot wait to get started and look forward to personally welcoming customers into our restaurants.”
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