Get to know Bakers Delight's new CEOs, David Christie and Elise Gillespie
On leadership, challenges, engaging the new generation.
QSR Media: What makes you excited about your position?
Bakers Delight is a successful and loved brand but what makes us excited is how much better we can be.
QSR Media: What are your key business philosophies?
In our business the only way to stay relevant and successful is to constantly delight your customers. To do that the people in the business, and in particular our franchisees, have to be delighted by what they do every day. As business leaders our challenge is to create that environment.
QSR Media: What three goals are you focused on?
Growing the sales and profitability for our franchisees.
Leading and growing the bread category in Australia.
Being the favourite bakery in every community.
QSR Media: What long-term changes are you planning on?
The fundamentals of our business remain the same – delivering delight by baking fantastic bread from scratch every day. But to grow in the future we need to be more focused on the needs of a younger generation of customers. And that means innovation in product, equipment, store fit out and the way we communicate.
QSR Media: What previous positions have prepared you for this one and how?
We’ve worked in this business from the ground up and spent most of our 20’s in Canada opening and operating bakeries and new regions. We have a detailed understanding and respect for what it takes to run successful bakeries.
We led the Canadian business for two years as Vice Presidents alongside Elise’s brother, Aaron and another colleague, John Gilson.
Since 2012 we’ve been working in various executive roles in the business in Australia, overseeing operations and support departments.
