Former Aubaine chief exec Nick Young joins Byron as COO

Former chief executive of French restaurant chain Aubaine Nick Young has joined burger company Byron as chief operating officer.

Following time as commercial director at Moto Hospitality and managing director of O'Briens Sandwich Bars, Young joined PizzaExpress in 2006 and as operations director played a key part in driving the strategic development of the business and leading the operations team through a period of accelerated growth. He then spent five years as operations director for the 775-strong managed pub estate at the Spirit Pub Company.

He will report to acting executive chairman, Dalton Philips, and will work closely with managing director Simon Cope, who was appointed in May. Chief executive Andy Manders departed the business earlier this year and a replacement has not yet been appointed.

Young said: "I'm joining Byron at a very exciting time. There is a huge amount of passion within the team and I'm looking forward to working with all our restaurants, continuing to evolve the outstanding service that Byron is famous for. The team's desire to be at the top of this highly competitive market convinced me that Byron is the right place for me and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in."

Dalton Philips, acting executive chairman, added: "I am delighted to welcome Nick to the Byron team. In this market, to win, you must constantly outperform your competitors in terms of the service proposition. Nick has a first class record within the sector and brings a wealth of operational know-how to the team. I'm sure he's going to make a significant impact within Byron and help take us to the next level of service delivery for our customers."

Simon Cope to join Byron Hamburgers as MD from Wagamama >>

Andy Manders to step down as Byron CEO >>

Tom Byng to leave Byron >>

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