Ole & Steen parent company Lagkagehuset has appointed Joachim Knudsen as its new group CEO.
The Danish native, who is formerly managing director of McDonald’s Sweden and Denmark, will be taking on the new role on January 1, 2024.
Over the past five years the Danish bakery group has doubled in size, expanding to London and New York.
Lagkagehuset employs more than 3,500 people and has 140 bakery shops in three countries, 31 of which are outside Denmark.
Going forward, the strategic focus will be on improving operational performance and profitability and continue building a leading premium bakery-led chain in Denmark, London, and New York.
Succeeding Jason Cottas, Knudsen was previously managing director of Food Folk AB, the company operating McDonald’s in Sweden.
Before that, he was managing director of McDonald’s Denmark for five years.
David Campbell, chairman of the board, said: “We are delighted to welcome Joachim Knudsen as our new CEO. He brings more than 25 years of industry experience and has delivered impressive results at McDonald’s. At the same time, he is a strong and seasoned leader with an operational focus who will fit well with the company in this next phase.
“Lagkagehuset has a strong position in Denmark and has established itself in London and New York, and we are now entering a new phase where we need to continue driving strong organic growth and focus on improved profitability through general optimization of the company. The Board of Directors is convinced that Joachim is the right profile for the next chapter of Lagkagehuset and is proud to have been able to attract a profile with his calibre.”
Joachim Knudsen added: “I am excited to join Lagkagehuset on the next step of its journey. It is a fantastic brand with great locations in Denmark, London, and New York. It has a strong culture, great products, a lot of talented employees, supportive stakeholders, and loyal customers. Lagkagehuset has managed to navigate through a challenging market environment with the pandemic and the macroeconomic headwinds in recent years. I am convinced that the company is well-positioned for its next phase of operational excellence. I look forward to developing the company further in cooperation with the entire team.”
Lagkagehuset was founded in 1991 in Copenhagen. In 2016, Lagkagehuset opened its first store outside Denmark, in London, under the name Ole & Steen, and in early 2019, the first Ole & Steen bakery opened in New York at Union Square in Manhattan.
