When Paula MacKenzie took over as CEO in 2022, PizzaExpress had been through seven CEOs in eleven years, a billion-pound debt restructuring, 73 restaurant closures, and a pandemic that decimated the casual dining sector. Four years on, she has refurbished three quarters of the estate, grown a loyalty app to four million members, and is targeting 1,000 restaurants worldwide by 2030. In this episode, Sir Richard Harpin, the host of the Business Leader podcast, delves into the numbers, the decisions, and the leadership thinking behind the business turnaround — including why profits fell even as revenue rose, what a refurbishment actually does to a restaurant's economics, and how MacKenzie is expanding PizzaExpress into new formats and new markets.They also cover her career journey — from Ernst & Young auditor to Diageo, GSK, Innocent Drinks and eleven years at KFC — what it takes to go cross-functional and make yourself the obvious CEO candidate, and the leadership lessons she has taken from four years running one of Britain's most scrutinised businesses. And, her advice to the new Chancellor of the Exchequer.
In this episode:
What PizzaExpress actually looked like when MacKenzie walked in — and the one thing the business needed most
Why she changed much of the leadership team in her first months, and what a CEO transition coach told her before she even started
How the loyalty app grew to four million members
The refurbishment programme — and why underinvested restaurants are delivering 5–10% revenue uplifts
The 1,000 restaurant target — and the new formats, franchise markets and US ambitions behind it
Her four-stage playbook for any new CEO: arrive, assimilate, articulate, accelerate
Why she believes you cannot overcommunicate — and how she mystery shops her own restaurants
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