Travel F&B outlet company SSP Group has appointed Kari Daniels as CEO of its UK and Ireland operations.
Daniels succeeds Richard Lewis, who will step down from the role at the end of January 2023, following a transition period. Lewis will continue in a consultative capacity until the end of April 2023 while Daniels completes her induction.
Daniels has experience across commercial and marketing in both retail and branded fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) businesses. She worked at Tesco for 20 years, where she spent four years as CEO of Tesco Ireland with responsibility for over 150 stores and more than 13,000 colleagues. Prior to this, she was UK commercial director at Tesco. Daniels also currently serves as a non-executive director at Topps Tiles. In her new role, she will work with the UK leadership team to accelerate growth and profit, build food and beverage propositions, collaborate with clients and brand partners and shape the sustainability agenda.
Patrick Coveney, CEO of SSP Group, said, “We are delighted to welcome Kari to SSP. Her extensive knowledge and experience of both retail and food industries make her an ideal successor to Richard in the role, and I’m confident she will accelerate growth in our UK business by putting a clear focus on developing our customer offer and innovating our brands and concepts to cater for the changed world we now operate in. Kari joins at an exciting time for the Group as we continue to make strong progress in our recovery and deliver our growth strategy to further strengthen our market-leading positions in food travel markets globally.
“I would like to thank Richard for his invaluable contribution to the group during his time in the role. Richard successfully led SSP UK, Ireland and the Netherlands through the Covid-19 pandemic, managing the needs of the business, our clients and customers through extremely challenging and volatile times and steering the business through the recovery. The board and I wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
