Aspirational Pub Company is restructuring its senior team with former Pizza Hut UK & Ireland chief operating officer Aaron Moore-Saxton replacing founder Jason Keen as managing director, M&C has learnt.
Keen will take charge of the operations side of the business in place of outgoing operations director Joe Holdsworth, who is leaving to start his own business. His wife and co-founder Jamie-Lee Keen will be responsible for business development.
The arrangement is a reunion for Keen and Moore-Saxton, who previously worked together for Whitbread when the former was a general manager and the latter his assistant.
Moore-Saxton has worked for Pizza Hut since 2006, starting as an area manager and working up to head of operations – delivery until the two segments of the business separated in 2012, when he continued to take responsibility for operations for the YUM! Brands owned business.
Holdsworth, who is leaving to set up his own business, said: “Aaron brings a wealth of experience from his time at Pizza Hut and knows the pub sector well. It’s a really exciting time for Aspirational Pub Company.
“Food is such a huge driver of growth in the industry at the moment but I think my skills lie in the wet-led side, so I’m very pleased to see someone with Aaron’s experience in food sales coming into the business.”
