Costa Coffee has promoted Neil Lake to the position of managing director UK and Ireland, which he will take up on 1 July.
Lake, who joined Costa in September 2018 as retailer and operations director, relocated from Australia where he most recently worked as a senior executive for Coles Supermarket. His career spans retail operations, store development, merchandise and general management.
He replaces Jason Cotta who has resigned to take up a chief executive role elsewhere. Cotta has worked for Costa for over eight years across both the UK and global business.
Commenting on the announcement, Costa Coffee CEO Dominic Paul said: “I am delighted to have appointed Neil to the role of managing director, UK&I. Neil brings with him extensive strategic and operational experience at a global level, with a strong track record of driving sustainable results.
“Following our recent sale to The Coca Cola Company, this is an incredibly exciting time for Costa Coffee, especially within the UK&I, where we are focused on unlocking a new phase of growth and further enhancing our customer experience. Neil is perfectly positioned to lead the UK&I team, leveraging his depth of retail experience and passion for Costa’s customers and team members.”
Lake added that he was honoured to be taking on the role and looked forward to working with the UK and Ireland team, including corporate and franchise partners.
“Costa Coffee is a growing global business and I am excited for the opportunity to work to simplify, invest and grow the UK&I market, focusing on our customer experience, teams, partners and channel innovation,” he added.
Costa Coffee now has more than 2,600 coffee shops in the UK and more than 1,300 in 32 overseas markets. There are also more than 8,000 Costa Express self-serve machines in the UK.
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