Premier Inn-owner Whitbread selects Domino’s Pizza chief to head up hospitality giant
Premier Inn owner Whitbread has selected Domino’s Pizza boss Dominic Paul as its new chief executive.
Paul will leave his role at Domino’s Pizza in December 2022, the pizza chain confirmed on Wednesday.
He will step into the shoes of Alison Brittain, who has overseen the historic 280-year-old company over the past six years.
Paul headed Whitbread’s Costa Coffee brand as chief executive officer from 2016 to 2019, before the coffee chain was sold for £3.9bn to Coca Cola.
“It has been a privilege to be CEO of Domino’s, a company with a powerful brand, brilliant team and superb franchisees,” Paul said on Wednesday morning.
He added: “Returning to Whitbread as CEO is the only job I would have left for at this stage, and in the meantime, I’m looking forward to working closely with everyone at Domino’s over the next six months to ensure a smooth transition.”
“It has been an enormous privilege to lead Whitbread during a period of significant expansion for our well-loved brands, in both the UK and in Germany,” the outgoing Brittain, who will retire from being a full time executive at the end of the 2023 financial year, said.
She added: “The business has recovered from the pandemic well ahead of expectations and is continuing to trade strongly and gain market share. We are well positioned for continued outperformance and future growth, and we have a clear strategy and a strong management team to deliver it.”
Shares in Whitbread were down two per cent on Wednesday morning.