Former CEO of Burger King owner appointed chairman at Pret A Manger

The former chief executive of fast food company Restaurant Brands International (RBI) has been named chairman at Pret A Manger.

José Cil was previously in charge of brands such as Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, and supported the growth of RBI to achieve more than £30b in sales.

During his tenure, the company also expanded to 30,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries.

Cil takes over from Konrad Meyer, who will continue as a director of Pret A Manger.

Meyer was involved in the acquisition of Pret by global investment firm JAB in 2018 and has been on the board of Pret since then, having also served as interim chief financial officer in 2020.

Under Cil’s leadership, Pret A Manger will bolster its plans for international expansion and continue to develop relationships with local franchises.

Over the past five years, the sandwich giant has broadened its global footprint to 21 countries, meaning a quarter of Pret’s sales now come from outside the UK.

He will be supported by industry veterans Elias Diaz Sese, co-founder of Popeyes UK, non-executive director at Domino’s Pizza Group and former senior executive at Kraft Heinz and RBI brands Tim Hortons and Burger King, and Andre Molinari, former head of global development and mergers and acquisitions at RBI and head of international development at Tim Hortons.

Cil will also take on a wider role as chairman of JAB’s restaurant platform, which includes brands such as Panera Bread, Einstein Bros Bagels, Caribou Coffee and Espresso House.

Pano Christou, chief executive of Pret A Manger, said: “José’s vast experience in restaurants and franchising will play an invaluable role in making Pret a truly successful, fast-growing global business.

“I’m looking forward to working with José to help us deepen relationships with our franchise partners and drive sustainable profitable growth. I would also like to thank Konrad for his exceptional support these past seven years and we will continue to value his guidance as an ongoing member of the Pret board.”

Cil added: “I have a huge amount of admiration for Pret A Manger and believe we have only scratched the surface when it comes to fulfilling Pret’s true potential. Elias and Andre are two exceptional leaders that will bring tremendous value to the board, and I want to thank Konrad for helping Pret get back to what it does best.

“I’m looking forward to working with Pano and the wider management team to double down on Pret’s simple, winning recipe: delicious, freshly made food and coffee, served by friendly, high performing teams in shops and restaurants across the world.”

Pret A Manger opened its first shop in London in 1986 and has since grown to 700 shops worldwide in markets ranging from Hong Kong to Qatar.