German Doner Kebab has announced the appointment of Sofia Dimen as its new managing director in the U.K. The brand has put forward ambitious growth plans over the last few months, and Dimen is considered the ideal person to lead those growth efforts across the U.K.
She founded Basepoint Consulting and was the former senior commercial consultant at OXYGY Ltd, a Bird & Bird International Law Firm. In her time at OXYGY, Dimen worked with a number of top-range food brands such as Greggs, Pret A Manger, Wagamamas and many more.
“I am excited to be joining German Doner Kebab and stepping into the role of managing director,” said Dimen.
“GDK has undergone monumental growth in the U.K. over the past year and I am looking forward to developing our growth plans and bringing our fresh and exciting offering to the Gen Z and millennial audience throughout the U.K.”
She has worked with numerous high street brands to gain an understanding of the franchisor-franchisee relationship through behaviors and processing. She has also audited multiple departments and boosted profitability for companies from multinational, publicly-listed firms to founder-led start-ups.
She will be replacing Daniel Bunce, who was recently promoted to the GDK international global chief operating officer role to spearhead the brand’s international growth plans.
“Sofia brings new expertise and talent to our leadership team and we are thrilled to welcome her into the GDK family as we build our brand awareness and bring an offering that is truly connecting with the Gen Z and millennial audience,” said Imran Sayeed, group CEO.
“I fully expect Sofia to not only be influential in helping us meet our ambitions of opening 78 restaurants in 2022, but truly driving the growth of our footprint in the next few years as we aim to reach 350 stores.
“We are growing at a great pace and in her new role, Sofia will also be leveraging her significant experience to support operations, marketing and developing franchise business relationships. As well as influencing growth and establishing German Doner Kebab as one the fastest growing fast-casual brands in the U.K.
“Her experience within the retail and hospitality sectors will be invaluable from an operations and franchise relationship perspective as we bring greater momentum to our growth ambitions in the U.K.”
