Brakes Group has announced that Philip Jansen, Group CEO, will become Chairman of Brakes Group on 1 April 2013 and that Ken McMeikan, currently CEO of Greggs plc, will join as the new Group CEO, at a date to be announced. Dwight Poler, currently Chairman of the Brakes Group Board, will step down as Chairman but will remain an active member of the Board of Directors.
Concurrent with becoming Chairman of Brakes Group, Philip Jansen will also become CEO of WorldPay.
£250 million investment programme
Dwight Poler said:
“2012 has been a pivotal year for Brakes as it further strengthened its position as the European market leader by gaining market share, while also growing profits.
“More importantly, we have developed a 5-year plan that will reinforce and capitalise on this market leadership through a £250 million, multi-year investment program that will deliver a highly compelling customer proposition and continued profit growth. The investment program will strengthen Brakes’ network infrastructure, product development, IT systems and people.
“With this backdrop, we believe the next phase of the plan is best served with Philip acting as Chairman and Ken leading the implementation of our exciting plan. With a background of worldclass leadership in food, foodservice and retail, Ken has the perfect mix of experience to lead Brakes.”
Ken McMeikan said:
“Given Brakes’ leading market position, great employees and strong plan, the Company could not be better positioned to serve the European foodservice customer and lead the industry. I have had the opportunity to go through the 5-year plan in detail and could not be more impressed with the Group’s vision and investment plan. I look forward to working with Group’s talented management team and 10,000 employees to deliver on this plan.”
About Ken McMeikan
Ken joined Greggs plc as CEO in 2008. Prior to Greggs, Ken was a key part of the Operating Board turnaround team at Sainsburys from 2004 to 2008 where he was Retail and Online Home Shopping Director with responsibility for 500 superstores and 130,000 employees. Prior to this Ken was Chief Executive of Tesco Japan and Chief Executive of Europa Foods following the acquisition he led on behalf of Tesco, and oversaw the amalgamation of Europa Foods into the Tesco brand.
About Brakes Group
With a turnover of over £2.6bn, Brakes Group is a leading supplier to the foodservice industry in the UK, Ireland, France and Sweden. The group comprises a family of specialist businesses which are able to deliver everything the caterer needs, including their very successful own brand ranges developed specifically for chefs.
Employing over 10,000 people, the group supplies a diverse customer base, which includes independent pubs, restaurants and hotels, schools, hospitals, contract caterers and well known national chains.
