Our Leadership Team

Allan Leighton is a highly respected businessman,and has held a series of roles including Chief Executive of ASDA, Non-ExecutiveChairman of Royal Mail and President of Loblaw in Canada. Currently, along with PizzaExpress, Allan is theChairman of Matalan Ltd, Office Ltd, Entertainment One Plc, Pace Plc, and Deputy Chairman of Pandora AS.

Paula MacKenzie joined as CEO in 2022 and has over 20 years’ experience in transforming food and beverage companies. Paula is known for her ability to put emotion into brands both locally and internationally. Previously, Paula was UK & Ireland MD at KFC. She led KFC through a transformation, accelerating revenue growth and helping to define food innovation, restaurant design and category-led chicken welfare. Paula has also worked in strategic roles for Diageo, GSK, innocent and Ernst & Young. Paula has an MA Economics from Cambridge and holds an ACA from ICAEW. Paula is also recognised for her spearheading efforts on diversity, equality & inclusion. Additionally, she is currently a Non-Executive Director for the FTSE 100 retailer B&M and an Advisory Board Member for Pennies, the UK's leading fintech charity.

Chris joined PizzaExpress in 2022 as the Channel and International Director. He is responsible for leading the international, delivery and retail businesses of the brand, and is at the forefront of driving PizzaExpress’ franchise led international expansion. Previously, Chris was the Managing Director at Ask Italian and Chief Development Officer at KFC UK & Ireland where he launched their loyalty platform and drove record numbers of new site openings. Additionally, Chris is an Advisory Board Member for Food for Education, and the Founder and CEO of SMASHco, an app created to inspire young people across the UK to access healthier, affordable food options.