Pizza Hut UK names new chief executive

The owner of Pizza Hut UK has named former Taco Bell managing director Gino Casciani as its new chief executive for Europe.

He will take up the role on 9 September and oversee growth at owner Directional Pizza’s 240-plus Pizza Hut restaurants across the UK, Sweden and Denmark.

Casciani’s career includes senior roles at Pret A Manger, KFC, Taco Bell, Odeon Cinemas Group and most recently as global chief operating officer of Sushi Daily, where he oversaw more than 1,500 sushi concession sites across Europe, Mexico and the Middle East.

Directional Pizza is part of investment firm Directional Capital, which acquired Pizza Hut’s UK dine-in restaurants out of pre-pack administration for £10m in January.

The deal included 139 restaurants and was reported to have secured around 3,000 jobs.

Heart with Smart Group, which previously operated Pizza Hut UK, had reportedly been searching for buyers since November to mitigate the impact of tax hikes announced in the autumn budget.

The Pizza Hut name is licensed from Yum! Brands, the US food giant behind KFC and Taco Bell.

Photo: Kauka Jarvi/Shutterstock