Andy Naylor named as new Tortilla CEO
He will be replaced as CEO by Andy Naylor, who has worked alongside Morris for the past seven years, initially as chief financial officer, then with added business development leadership responsibilities and more recently as UK managing director.
“After an incredible 10 years with Tortilla, I feel this is the right time to step back and hand the burrito baton over to Andy and the team,” says Morris.
“It has been an extraordinary and exhilarating journey, bookmarked by huge events such as Brexit, Covid, the development of both our franchise and delivery strategy and, of course, an IPO. The business has proved highly adaptable and remains a market leading offer in the fast casual space.
“I leave behind a highly qualified and inspiring Board and an outstanding executive team who are ready for the next stage of Tortilla’s development. It has been a privilege to work with such a talented group of people, our loyal customers, suppliers and wider stakeholders and I shall continue to cheerlead loudly from the sidelines.”
Under Morris’ leadership Tortilla has expanded from 14 to 89 restaurants, including franchises in the Middle East and UK travel locations, helping it establish itself as the UK’s largest fast casual Mexican brand.
“On behalf of everyone here at Tortilla I would like to thank Richard for his significant contribution to the business over the last 10 years,” says Emma Woods, non-executive chair at Tortilla.
Naylor adds: “The Tortilla brand has huge potential and I am excited to be taking on the role of CEO. Recent years have seen the group take significant strides to expand our presence through our multi-channel business strategy and strengthen our platform for further profitable growth and I am looking forward to working with the team to accelerate this journey.”
In other appointments at the company, Maria Denny joins the business this month as chief financial officer and will also join the board as an executive director. Denny has held senior finance and accounting positions at Muller UK and Ireland, and Dairy Crest.
