Rod McKie: ‘People are paramount’

For Rod McKie, top line, bottom line, and “people dynamics” are the three KPIs that determine the health of a business.

Currently executive chairman at New World Trading Company and non-executive chair at Megan’s, the hospitality veteran sat down for a candid conversation on Challenger Chats, a podcast series by M&A and private equity advisory Tamweel Capital.

McKie discussed his career from the beginning, including his roles at TGI Fridays as operations director in the 1980s, at Pret a Manger as operations director in the 1990s, and later as CEO of Welcome Break and international CEO for Sticks’n’Sushi.

“Growing both the top line and bottom line year-on-year is a sign of a great business,” McKie said. “You need to constantly evolve and adapt…those are the two key KPIs for me.

“You also need to dive into detail on the people dynamics. What’s the turnaround, and are you promoting your people?

“You can’t have both the top line and bottom line unless you’ve got successful people KPIs. People make the business, and in our industry, it’s more paramount than ever.”

When taking on a board position, these are the parts of the business he looks at, McKie said, rather than only bricks-and-mortar expansion.

He added that “people are spending more money than ever, and valuable money – they deserve that quality of service and product.”

“As a chair, you need to keep things on track and act as a voice of reason,” he said. “People will always have opinions, but there should be a clear line of action.”

McKie further revealed he is a workaholic and an action-oriented individual, but has greatly enjoyed working with a wide variety of businesses over the course of his career.

He shared insights about his time working with founders Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham at Pret in the 1990s.

“I left after a week…they persuaded me to come back!

“It was chaos. Julian was probably the most ill-disciplined person I’ve ever working with, but his passion and commitment to quality was second to none.

“When I joined there were 21 Prets and when I left we were at 120. To this day it’s a phenomenal business.”

Private equity-backed businesses tend to be more formal, with multiple investors often involved, while entrepreneurs are more “freewheeling and fast-paced,” he added.

In his current non-executive positions, McKie takes pride in being a “sounding board” for ideas.

“Different businesses have a variety of different needs…but there has to be due diligence in any business and an element of governance you can’t not have these days.”