Ali’s vast multi-site F&B leadership experience comes from many years of heading up the Café and Food To Go concepts at both Marks and Spencer and Morrisons Supermarkets. Ali started her career at M&S and followed a career path there for 17 years, starting in store management. In the last 10 years at M&S she focused on Hospitality in various head office roles which culminated in heading up M&S Café. Ali then spent 4 years at Morrisons where she joined as part of the Senior Leadership Team and headed up the Cafes, Staff Rooms, Coffee and Food To Go concepts. Ali held accountability for the end-to-end F&B P&Ls where she oversaw commercial, operations, product and menu, marketing, property and design, proposition and concept, people and the labour model for all formats. Ali now works as a consultant bringing all her experience together to help others achieve success in their Food & Beverage businesses. Ali is renowned within the industry for delivering outstanding results at pace including turning around loss making concepts-at M&S she found £50m and Morrisons £18m. She’s a highly demanding yet supportive leader with a reputation for being a high performer and building high performing teams. Ali has a huge network amongst industry experts, leaders and suppliers within F&B and Retail. She is extremely customer focussed with a constant eye on profit, market trends, sustainability, and grow, scale and turnaround F&B businesses of any size.
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Chief Executive OfficerCybake Bakery SoftwareWakefield, Gb -
Retail Partnerships DirectorCybake Bakery Software Jul 2024 - PresentYork, Yorkshire, GbOur software gives retailers, making food in a store environment, a production planning tool that allows them to maximise availability for their customers as well as controlling waste. The software uses live sales data and tells the store colleagues how much to produce at what time of day. It captures colleague compliance and provides insight and reporting for management. It does just the same job in a wholesale environment too! We can support any retailer or wholesaler of any size, making short life fresh food such as bakery, sandwiches, sushi, hot food to go and much more, pretty much anywhere in the world! -
Hospitality ConsultantRazl Ltd Feb 2024 - PresentWith over 20 years experience in the Food & Beverage & Retail industries we provide expertise on how to start up, grow, scale and also turnaround Food & Beverage businesses of any size.
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Head Of Food ServiceMorrisons Aug 2022 - Feb 2024Bradford, West Yorks, GbLeading the operating, development and innovation for all of our Food Service propositions including Cafe, BREW, Hot Counters, Pizza, Salad Bar, Food To Go, Market Kitchen and Staff Rooms. -
Head Of Cafe, Coffee (Brew) And Staff RoomMorrisons Mar 2020 - Aug 2022Bradford, West Yorks, GbHeading up our 410 Cafes and 90 BREW Bars, all things Coffee and our 500 Staff Rooms which feed 120,000 colleagues. I have full accountability for the P&L with accountability for Buying, Operations and Product Development. Jobs don’t get better than this one! -
Senior Central Operations ManagerMarks And Spencer Aug 2018 - Mar 2020London, London, GbLeading the M&S Café concept with full accountability for the operation of over 400 M&S Cafés and their £270m turnover delivered by 7000 team members - the fourth biggest coffee chain in the UK. Working as deputy to the Head of M&S Hospitality Operations, a key member of the Hospitality Leadership Team setting the strategic direction for the whole of M&S hospitality and delivering on that plan through a team of operations managers. • Transformed the profit contribution from M&S Café to the overall business through delivering a 3-year plan to growth. Included building a leaner labour model and more efficient operation whilst stretching the offer and operation to delight existing and attract new customers. Grew customer satisfaction whilst making bold changes to the service proposition.• Devised, lead and delivered a major training programme to the Retail teams to ensure Operational Excellence is embedded within all M&S Cafes.• Leading a strategic business initiative to shift the Drinks and Coffee proposition to realise an additional £1m annual profit. Cross functional collaboration including Buying, NPD, Marketing, Technical, Operations, Property and Retail.• Lead and coordinated a 3-year estate modernisation programme with an associated £12m of Capital Investment.• Accountable for an annual £3m Capital Core Investment budget for all Hospitality concepts.• Leading the business approach to the Hospitality renewal plan as part of the overall M&S 5-year Transformation plan.• Lead on the M&S partnership with Macmillan as headline partner to their largest yearly campaign, the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning.• Included in 2019 Leadership Development Cohort programme for Top 5% performers. -
Central Operations ManagerMarks And Spencer Sep 2014 - Jul 2018London, London, GbOperational lead for M&S Hospitality with accountability for the operation of over 350 Cafes, 50 Takeaway concepts and 500 Bakeries. Working as deputy to the Head of M&S Hospitality Operations to build and lead a team of Operations Managers following a restructure to move M&S Hospitality from a third-party run operation into a fully in-house operation. • Created a team structure that allowed successful delivery of a 3-year Profit Growth strategy which contributed an additional £50m in profit including £15m in efficiency and labour savings. Recruited a high performing team, establishing clear accountabilities for each concept and mobilised the evolution of new concepts.• Strong leadership through a major structural change programme including the set up of M&S Hospitality as a separate business unit within the M&S Food Group alongside the implementation of a 26 strong Hospitality Retail Support field team.• Worked alongside NPD, Marketing and Trading functions to develop a menu offer, range, price and buying margin that was right for the customer and consistently delivered volume growth on the year.• Consulted with the Property and Design teams to create a M&S Café Design Guide which enabled the successful acquirement of investment to modernise the M&S Café estate over a 3-year programme. • Employee of the year for Retail Support in 2015/16 and Employee of the Quarter for the Food Group in Q1 2017, achieving top 5% of the business rating 2 years in succession. -
Hospitality Area ManagerMarks And Spencer Apr 2013 - Aug 2014London, London, GbPromoted to this multi-site management role during a restructure involving the TUPE transfer of 100 employees from a third party into M&S Ireland, reporting directly to the Head of Hospitality in the UK and an integral member of the Irish Head Office team.Lead the operation across 40 stores including 27 Cafes, 40 Bakeries, 4 Rear-Served Deli Counters, 2 Restaurants and a Champagne Bar. A turnover of over £35m across Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man. with a team of 3 Senior Managers, 40 Middle Managers, 2 Head Chefs and 1000 Specialist Customer Assistants. • Project managed several work streams within the Irish business including co-ordinating local promotions and marketing campaigns, local NPD (brought 6 new local products to market).• Working alongside the HRBP devised a career path for M&S Hospitality in Ireland making contractual changes including working hours, job profiles and rates of pay. Created a Hospitality recruitment process that was fit for the Irish business and market. -
Hospitality Regional DeveloperMarks And Spencer Sep 2010 - Apr 2013London, London, GbMulti-site manager responsible for the operation of 40 sites including 27 Cafes and 40 In Store Bakeries with a turnover of €30m across Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland reporting to the Head of Selling in Ireland. Managed the third-party relationship involved in the operating of 2 Restaurants, a Champagne Bar and takeaway concepts. • Over delivery on sales across all areas in challenging economic conditions.• Lead store teams through several store openings and re-developments.• Raised the profile of Hospitality as a profit and loyalty driver keeping aligned to the strategic plan of the UK business and ensuring the right capital investment was made in the Irish Hospitality business.• Engaged with customer panels, Irish Food Boards and local suppliers to deliver product improvements to suit the Irish market - several being subsequently rolled out to all UK stores. -
Store Management (Various Roles)Marks And Spencer May 2005 - Sep 2010London, London, GbNumerous store management roles in the Republic of Ireland during the economic boom at a time when M&S store presence in the Republic of Ireland grew from 4 to 22 stores over 5 years. • Accountabilities included Clothing and Home, Food, Finance and Operations and Hospitality, as well as leading teams through new store openings.• Final role was as Food Commercial Manager for the M&S Foodhall with the highest footfall in the UK and Irish business and a turnover of over €30m. Delivered through the leadership of a team of 11 department managers and over 200 team members. -
Department ManagerMarks And Spencer Oct 2003 - May 2005London, London, GbIncluded various roles across the store with final role as manager of the Menswear department with a £15m turnover, in the fifth largest store in the business. -
Site ManagerHolidaybreak Plc May 2000 - Sep 2003GbManager of 300 holiday units on various campsites in France for the UK's leading operator of luxury camping holidays. Responsible for a team of 30 from diverse backgrounds and cultures. -
Customer AssistantMarks And Spencer Oct 2002 - May 2003London, London, Gb -
Sales AssociateCue Clothing Co. Nov 2001 - Jun 2002Surry Hills, Nsw, AuWorked as a sales executive for this high-end clothing brand across many stores and concessions whilst living in Australia.
Ali Lyons Education Details
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The University Of LiverpoolHistory 2:1 With 1St Class Irish History -
Barnsley CollegeEnglish And General Studies -
The Foulstone SchoolGcse
Frequently Asked Questions about Ali Lyons
What company does Ali Lyons work for?
Ali Lyons works for Cybake Bakery Software
What is Ali Lyons's role at the current company?
Ali Lyons's current role is Chief Executive Officer.
What schools did Ali Lyons attend?
Ali Lyons attended The University Of Liverpool, Barnsley College, The Foulstone School.
Who are Ali Lyons's colleagues?
Ali Lyons's colleagues are Luke Karl, Oprah Davidson, Bartt Strobel.
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