Whitbread appoints new Costa MD following Chris Rogers' departure

Hospitality giant Whitbread has appointed Dominic Paul as its new managing director of coffee brand Costa.

His appointment follows Christopher Rogers' decision to leave the company, having held the role of MD of Costa since July 2012, having been group finance director since 2005.

Paul will take up his new role on 6 June, joining from Royal Carribbean International, where he has been a senior vice president since November 2013 and is responsible for the international business outside the company's US operations and has been particularly focused on growing the business in Asia-Pacific and China.

Richard Baker, chairman of Whitbread, said: "Chris has made an immense contribution to Whitbread over the last 11 years. He joined Whitbread as finance director in 2005 and played a leading role in the transformation of the group to a more focused and profitable business. He then took the helm at Costa in 2012 and under his leadership Costa has grown rapidly from under 2,500 stores to over 3,200 today and is firmly established as the UK's favourite coffee shop chain. On behalf of all my board colleagues, I should like to thank him for all he has done over the years and, more recently, for his support and typical professionalism in enabling a smooth succession planning process. We wish him every success in the future."

CEO Alison Brittain CEO said: "During his tenure Chris has played a key role in establishing the successful group that we have today, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for this and to wish him well in the future.

"I am delighted that Dominic Paul will be joining Whitbread to lead Costa in its next exciting stage of growth. Dominic brings a wealth of experience in the travel and leisure industry, both here in the UK and overseas and his recent experience is particularly relevant for Costa's international growth plans. His passion for delivering outstanding customer experiences and track record of delivering growth in customer-focused hospitality businesses makes him the perfect fit for Costa."

Rogers, who leaves the company on 1 July, said: "I have loved being part of Whitbread and Costa during what has been a period of enormous value creation and growth, and after 11 years, I have decided that now is the right time for change. Costa is a great business with tremendous people and I wish them, Alison and all my colleagues at Whitbread every future success."

Paul said: "Costa is a fantastic business with a huge amount of further potential - both in the UK and overseas - and I am extremely excited to be working with the team to take the business to the next level."

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