German Doner Kebab (GDK) has appointed two industry experts from Domino’s as it forges ahead with building the fast casual brand of the future.
Simon Wallis joins as CEO after 13 years at Domino’s Pizza Group (DPG), where he most recently held the position of chief transformation officer. Robin Caley, following eight years at DPG where he was the CEO of both Germany and Norway and group business development director, takes on the role of chief development officer.
Simon succeeds current GDK CEO Imran Sayeed, who has been promoted to the position of group CEO at Hero Brands’ F&B division, which also includes a stable of emerging brands such as Choppaluna, Island Poke, Dirty Bones, and ‘Sides’, a concept jointly developed with YouTube superstars, the Sidemen.
Athif Sarwar, Hero Brands’ founder and chairman, said: “We are extremely pleased to be bringing in both Simon and Robin at such an exciting phase of the GDK journey. The next 12 months are going to be even bigger as we continue on our path of rapid development throughout the UK and international growth regions.”
Imran added: “Both Simon and Robin bring significant senior industry experience, and I believe they will play a huge role as we take our brand to the next level.”
At DPG, Simon led Domino’s to become the dominant pizza brand in the U.K. He drove the digitization of the business with the launch of the brand’s first-ever mobile ordering app worldwide, established flagship media partnerships to help the Domino’s brand become synonymous with ‘nights in front of the TV’, and introduced game-changing innovation such as Domino’s Stuffed Crust pizza.
“I am super excited to be joining the team at GDK to lead the business through its next stage of growth, and to build on the great foundations laid by our hard-working team members and franchise partners in fulfilling our ambition to create the undisputed #1 doner kebab brand on the planet,” remarked Simon.
He will provide a relentless focus on consistent execution of product quality, increasing the awareness of GDK’s distinctive brand identity, and enhancing collaboration with franchise partners to optimize franchisee profitability.
Robin was part of the same team that shaped Domino’s dominance in the U.K., having opened over 350 stores and significantly improving franchise relations for the organization. With respect to his new role, Robin noted: “I’ve watched the brand grow in the U.K. over the last few years and have really admired the proposition the team has developed. I’m delighted to join the team to drive the expansion of the brand in the U.K. and overseas.”
