The seven-strong restaurant group, Ottolenghi has appointed Emilio Foa as Group CEO, who brings over 20 years of experience at global high-end consumer brands.
Emilio joins from OKA where he has been CEO for the past four years. Previously he held senior roles at Rapha and Burberry, where he was part of the leadership team during the brand’s key transformation and growth period.
Ottolenghi will soon celebrate 20 years and has grown from a small shop in a side street in Notting Hill to a globally-respected brand, through its trend-setting emphasis on vegetables as the centre of the meal, Mediterranean flavours, the high profile of its founder, Yotam Ottolenghi, and the successful sales of cookbooks worldwide.
Yotam said, “We are so pleased to have Emilio on board. He represents everything that we hold dear to the brand: perfectionism, deep respect for brand values and for food, wide—ranging strategic view and meticulous execution.
'Myself and the other founders, Noam Bar and Cornelia Staeubli, will be supporting him in his role to bring respectful, measured growth to a brand that we love so much.”
Emilio said, “I’m really excited to join Ottolenghi, an amazing brand with clear positioning and such a strong culture. I’m passionate about food and I’ve been an Ottolenghi enthusiast for more than 15 years, since I moved to London - I’m obsessed with quality and customer satisfaction, so this is a dream come true.
'It is also a big responsibility as I’m the first external exec taking the CEO role and I look forward to partnering very closely with Yotam, Noam and Cornelia on the next stage of the journey.”