New leadership appointments including a few in the MD role have been announced by bakery and coffee businesses to help support growth ambitions.
These range from suppliers in Cumbria, Harrogate, Bolton, and London to national and regional retail chains, as well as a sandwich franchise looking to take hold of the UK market.
Check out our round-up of the latest senior hires in the baking industry as follows:
Bells of Lazonby
Katie Cummings has been named new commercial director of Cumbria-based sweet bakery manufacturer Bells of Lazonby.
She brings extensive commercial experience from across the food retail and hospitality sectors, having spent the past 13 years with Nestlé including her most recent role as head of cash and carry & vending. Having worked on key strategic customers and with Nestlé’s best-known brands, including KitKat and Nescafe, Cummings has amassed a wealth of knowledge in category management and field team leadership.
Her appointment at Bells, which starts in early October, comes at an important point for the third-generation family business as it marks 80 years of operations and continues to invest in its people, manufacturing capabilities, and its rapidly growing free-from bakery brand We Love Cake. The company is a finalist for Bakery Manufacturer of the Year 2026.
“Bells of Lazonby is a business with an incredible heritage, but what really attracted me to the role was the ambition for its future and the opportunity to scale,” said Cummings. “There is a fantastic opportunity to build on the strength of the business, its customer relationships and the expertise within the team, while continuing to look for new opportunities for growth.”
Bettys
Harrogate-based craft bakery Bettys has appointed Paul Coupe as its new managing director.
He has been with the company for more than nine years, most recently serving as operations director across both Bettys and Taylors business. Prior to this he was a factory GM for KP Snacks and manufacturing manager at United Biscuits.
Coupe replaces Simon Eyles, who has stepped down as Bettys MD but continues to serve as a member of the group’s co-CEO.
“Paul combines deep operational expertise with a thorough understanding of our people, values and customers,” commented Bettys & Taylors Group chair Clare Morrow, who is retiring in March 2027. She will be replaced by Andy Brown as he moves from his Taylors MD post after 17 years, with Fiona Fox coming in to lead the Yorkshire tea and coffee brand.
Birds Bakery
East Midlands chain Birds Bakery has welcomed business consultant Andy Thomas to its board as non-executive chair.
Having qualified as an accountant with KPMG, he spent 20 years at Nottingham-based window blinds brand Hillarys and worked his way up to UK CEO of Dutch parent company Hunter Douglas.
“I’ve been working with Jamie [Bird, joint MD] and his team for a few months now and been hugely impressed with the passion and hard work that sits behind the success of this much loved local business,” Thomas wrote on his LinkedIn post. “Looking forward to playing a part in the continuation of its success.”
Caffè Nero
Alistair Boyd has been named as the head of new channels development in the UK for Caffè Nero. The appointment is said to be part of the brand’s continuing expansion of its business beyond the traditional four-walled coffee houses and into e-commerce, delivery, grocery, wholesale, and workplace channels.
Boyd joins the UK Caffè Nero team with a professional background spanning hospitality and beverages, including over 15 years leading channel development for brands including Starbucks, Pepsi Co, and Molson Coors. He also has strong retail and leisure experience with 20th Century Fox and John Lewis.
His latest role will have him focus on further developing strategic partnerships with retailers to grow Caffè Nero’s non-store presence and market share, while simultaneously expanding key partnerships for the Aroma brand to take the business deeper into wholesale, catering, and offices.
Carrs Pasties
Bolton-based bakery business Carrs has appointed Gavin Astley as its new managing director.
Astley steps up from his head of operations role to lead day-to-day running and strategic direction of the third-generation family firm. He takes over from Joe Carr who will join brothers Matt and Liam on the executive leadership team with a focus on longer-term vision and expansion of its footprint across the Northwest.
During his six-year tenure at Carrs, Astley has overseen major investment to transform its Bolton bakery into a state-of-the-art facility. The company has increased headcount by 53% over the past five years with 150 people now employed across its production site and five retail shops around the Greater Manchester area. Turnover hit £10m this year and it now supplies more than 200 trade partners ranging from independent convenience stores to the University of Manchester and Liverpool FC’s Anfield Stadium.
Dum Dum Doughnuts
Helping to lead growth of branded and own label ranges at the premium doughnut specialist is Lawrence Trist, who assumes the role of head of commercial.
He is tasked with building and managing relationships with retailers, wholesalers and foodservice operators nationwide, alongside being a key part of Dum Dum’s wider business development strategy.
Trist brings over 25 years’ FMCG commercial experience having previously worked at Allied Bakeries, Finsbury Food Group, and Valeo Foods. “Dum Dum is one of the most recognisable names in British doughnuts, with a product that genuinely stands out on shelf and on menus. With added capacity and a BRC-accredited supply chain behind us, we’re in a strong position to bring the brand to far more customers across the UK,” he said.
Earlier this year, Dum Dum unveiled a new 6,000 sq ft bakery, innovation, and training facility in Brentford.
Jersey Mike’s Subs
Ahead of opening its first UK outlet this November in London’s West End, US-based sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s has installed Satnam Leihal as CEO of its ambitious master franchisee business JM Submarines UK.
An experienced leader across hospitality, retail and franchising, Leihal will oversee Jersey Mike’s UK and Ireland operations, franchise platform, and growing restaurant estate, working closely with founder Peter Cancro and the wider leadership team as the 70-year-old brand establishes itself in the market.
“This is a brand with genuine heritage, an uncompromising commitment to quality and a powerful belief in giving back to the communities it serves,” said Leihal. “Our ambition is not simply to open locations. We want to build an outstanding business, one that guests love, colleagues are proud to be part of and franchise partners can grow with.”
Jersey Mike’s has just unveiled the locations of its first four UK sites, all in central London and on Argyll Street, New Oxford Street, Baker Street, and Cranbourn Street.
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