Q&A: ZOE BOWLEY, MD, PIZZAEXPRESS

In this month’s Casual Dining Industry Leaders Q&A, we caught up with Zoe Bowley, Managing Director, PizzaExpress.

About Zoe…
Zoe Bowley has been a member of PizzaExpress senior management since 2011, predominantly as COO and Managing Director UK & Ireland. In December 2020 her role was expanded to include responsibility for PizzaExpress globally and she was appointed to the Board.

Her career in the food and leisure industries started in 1994, when she gained a place as a graduate trainee/area manager at Allied Domecq. Four years later, Zoe joined Whitbread, where she held various positions, including operations director of Café Rouge, operations director of David Lloyd Leisure and human resources director of the restaurant’s division. Over the 10 years in Whitbread she also worked in strategic projects division for 18 months working across the whole group.

In 2009, she joined Weightwatchers as the Vice-President of UK Operations for a year, before joining PizzaExpress as PizzaExpress’ London regional director.

Zoe holds a BA (Hons) degree in Business Studies from Oxford Brookes University.

How is your business adapting to the challenges of these uncertain times?
We have a fantastic plan for reopening all our restaurants on 17 May, and there’s a huge energy across everyone at PizzaExpress about the summer ahead. The last 14 months have been a big challenge, obviously, but we’ve learned a lot about how to be nimble and resilient, and how to focus on the important stuff that will make the biggest difference for customers and for our people.

Overall, our digital business has accelerated beyond all recognition, and we’ve used the ‘downtime’ (though it doesn’t feel like downtime!) of lockdown to plan and refine our plans for our brand, our service model, and our restaurants. You’ll see some big developments from us over the next few months – for example our teams will use May and most of June to get back into the rhythm of running restaurants, and then at the end of June our amazing new menu will launch.

Please tell us more about how you are supporting your teams and/or local communities?
We’ve kept in regular touch with all our restaurant managers via monthly calls with senior team members during lockdown, and have used our internal comms social channel and a variety of other wellbeing mechanisms to support all our teams.

Now we’re in the countdown to reopening, we’ve rolled out a huge new ‘welcome back’ training refresher programme for everyone returning to work. We’ve also just announced that we’re recruiting 1,000 new colleagues, including 300 from the Kickstart initiative. We’re proud of the training and employment opportunities that we offer to communities across the UK.

How do you think the industry will change? – are there potential opportunities?
Clearly the pandemic has changed our high streets and city centres, and challenged the core elements of our sociable society. However our industry is always changing, and with that come opportunities if you listen closely to customers, and can innovate quickly. I think the balance for the next year will be to innovate and cement customer trust. There’s no doubt that many customers are keen to get out to socialise again and to make up for lost time, and initially they’re looking for their favourite menu choices and restaurant environments to be everything they remember. But we have to reflect the rapidly changing times too, and we have a long line up of innovation ready to be introduced as everyone gets comfortable in restaurants again.

What do you think are the main challenges ahead?
There are some post pandemic issues that some operators will need to address relating to property etc – but we’re fortunate that those are behind us. There will also be challenges for all of us in recruiting good people back to our industry. The onus is on us to keep firmly focused on our roles as good employers and to offer great places to work.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job?
There are loads! I love the pace of hospitality – no two hours are the same, let alone two days! I also adore working so closely with so many brilliant people. Peter Boizot founded PizzaExpress over 55 years ago with a clear ethos about what a great pizzeria should be, and he was as passionate about the quality of the food as much as the atmosphere of the restaurants. It’s a great honour to be driving that legacy forward in 2021 – to harness it and keep delivering it in a way that is just as relevant today in over 400 restaurants around the world as it was in 1965 in one restaurant in Soho.

And the most challenging?
See above! Maintaining the energy, the buzz, the quality, the passion of Peter’s legacy across so many restaurants is a massive challenge. It’s very difficult to get right all the time, and sometimes we overthink or over analyse it. But we have a huge, passionate community who trust and love PizzaExpress and they – our customers and teams – give us great feedback and keep us true.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself that most people don’t know.
My energy and pace of life stem from my formative years as a 100m sprinter, trained by Steve Ovett. A couple of decades later, I still back myself to surprise my kids!

What’s your best tip for staying sane in lockdown?
I get my energy from people, so checking in with friends and family every day and getting off my screens and going outside for a daily run or swim in the river was really important. When it was allowed and possible, I went for a walk with colleagues – it was so much better than online one to one meetings!

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
My two favourites mantras have been particularly apt over the last year:

• Change is fundamental to evolution
• We’re stronger than we think, but we can’t succeed alone

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry?
There is something about our industry that empowers you from a very young age. If you’re sociable and enthusiastic, then the buzz and energy of your restaurant will give you many, many happy memories and plenty of opportunities.

How important is the Casual Dining show to your sector? (why would you recommend a visit?)
The sheer scale of the Casual dining show – seeing our industry brought together in one place – always reminds me that this an industry that people can join and thrive in. It reflects how big and great we are and, particularly post covid, it demonstrates how our industry will be a force for good in the future.

Casual Dining returns to ExCeL London on 27-28 September 2023. Register your interest in visiting the show here.

Interested in exhibiting at Casual Dining 2021? Email [email protected].