Pizza Express has announced the appointment of Colin Elliot as the new chief financial officer, commencing the role in the new year.
Elliot is currently a managing director at investment real estate firm CBRE, a position he has had since 2019.
He has a proven record working for UK multisite hospitality businesses and brings significant operational and refinancing experience across his previous five CFO roles which include House of Fraser, the De Vere Group, Premier Inn and the boutique hotel group Malmaison.
He will join the board and the leadership team and will lead the finance and legal teams.
Regarding his appointment, Elliot said: “I am excited to join Pizza Express, a brand which is much loved across the UK and globally. After working for numerous businesses in the wider consumer sector, this opportunity provides me with the chance to leverage my operational experience and I look forward to working with Paula and the team.”
Paula MacKenzie, chief executive officer, added: “We are delighted to welcome Colin to PizzaExpress where his experience and expertise throughout his career as CFO will be incredibly valuable to us at this stage in our growth journey.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Rodney Hicks for his outstanding contributions as our Interim chief financial officer. He has been a key member of the leadership team since May of this year, and we wish him the best in his future endeavours.”
