QSR Media UK Redcat Conference & Awards 2025

She specialises in research and analysis in the eating out and food-to-go channels at IGD. Her expertise covers macro trends and shopper and consumer research. Recently, she has been at the forefront of research initiatives such as delving into what drives occasions taking place in and out of home.

Jim Bitticks is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Dave’s Hot Chicken. He oversees the day-to-day operation of the company with direct oversight over operations, training, procurement, construction, marketing, and technology. Jim joined the Dave’s team when there were just four restaurants open and has helped grow the brand to over 260 locations across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and the Middle East. In addition, Jim is a franchisee of Dave’s Hot Chicken with four locations currently open in the Inland Empire of Southern California.

Prior to his current role, Jim was the Chief Restaurant Officer and EVP of Operations, Training, and Construction for Blaze Pizza, and oversaw the successful growth of that brand from two restaurants to three hundred seventy-two restaurants before making the move to Dave’s in 2020.

Will has spent 30 years in branded customer facing service businesses, living and working in the UK and internationally. His area  of expertise is in creating and leading truly customer centered  businesses in the retail, hospitality and wider service sector.  

In 2017 he joined Caffè Nero as Chief Executive Officer, for its 650 strong UK coffee house business. From 2012 to 2017, Will was the  divisional CEO of the retail business at energy giant SSE, and prior to that spent 6 years with InterContinental Hotels Group as UK MD and then COO of Global Change. He lived in Paris whilst working for the Walt Disney Company for the previous 5 years and his 10 years at British Airways were spent in marketing and sales, based in the UK, Rome and Paris.

Will began his career on the Marks & Spencer management training programme. He then attended Leeds University on a Royal Navy sponsorship and was commissioned onto HMS Ark Royal. Will has been Non-Executive Chair of BeEV, an electrical vehicle  charging business backed by Octopus Energy, since 2020. He is also an Advisor to the Board of Splendid Hospitality Group since 2022. 

From 2009 to 2013, Will was non-executive chairman of the Employer's Forum for Disability. In late 2011 he joined the Shropshire Business Board on which he served for 6 years. In 2024 he became a Trustee of Historic England. 

Will is a keen runner and skier; he is married to Tania, whom he met on an early Alpha course at HTB Church in 1991 and they have four adult children. Will has passion for leadership development in the workplace, and is active in coaching, mentoring and speaking publicly in this field, including as a Visiting Lecturer at The University of Leeds Business School.

Since joining Taco Bell in 2022, Ian has helped expand Europe’s scope, including Spain and Portugal, to take further advantage of the growing scale of the Taco Bell brand in Europe. From opening new markets to dropping incredible campaigns like Encore Hours, Ian leads an impressive team that continues to build strong brand awareness across the region.

Ian has 25+ years of experience as an international leader and a global track record of building and developing world class retail food &beverage brands, delivering epic customer experiences, digital leadership and customer focused strategies that drove turn-around and growth. His most recent roles include Chief Marketing Officer and Director of Future Food & New Channels for the Compass Group as well as the VP of Roastery & Reserve at Starbucks.

Ian is a problem solver by nature having graduated from The University of Birmingham (England) with a degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering. Having spent his career in multiple countries around the world he now lives back in his native England with his family and loves nothing more than bringing fresh vegetables straight from the garden to the kitchen and sharing great food with great friends.

Alasdair Murdoch has been Chief Executive Officer of Burger King UK since 2018. Alasdair has over 25 years of experience in the casual dining sector as the former Chief Executive Officer of Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Chief Executive Officer of Pizza Express International, Pizza Hut UK and General Manager of Pizza Hut France. Prior to that he was the Operations Director of KFC UK and Ireland, and Pizza Hut.

Alasdair studied at the Cranfield School of Management.

With roots in fine dining and hospitality, Nick Kleiner’s journey has always been driven by a passion for quality ingredients and unforgettable flavours. From managing a wine bar in London to running a successful fine dining restaurant for 12 years, Nick honed the expertise that now defines Sandwich Sandwich.

What began as a modest idea in a small shop next to his restaurant has grown into a must-visit destination for foodies. Proudly family-run, Sandwich Sandwich combines innovation, craftsmanship, and heart, transforming the humble sandwich into something truly extraordinary.

She is a CEO and founder of Meaningful Vision, a supplier of a competitor intelligence platform, offering insights into pricing, promotions, locations, and traffic data to the UK foodservice industry. This solution empowers companies to assess their market performance relative to competitors and identify avenues for growth.

She is an executive professional with 25 years of international experience in consultancy, market research, and data analytics for the Retail, Consumer Markets, and Foodservice industries. She has held C-level positions in market research firms, including her role as the Vice President and Head of European Foodservice Practice at The NPD Group. Her passion for data and insights, particularly their practical application, stems from her PhD studies in Knowledge Management.

She is a Partner at Simon-Kucher in London and leads the UK Restaurant practice. She has over 12 years’ experience supporting companies to develop and implement sustainable growth strategies. To achieve this her projects combine strategy, analytics and primary customer research to create pragmatic and actionable solutions, working from the initial inception through to implementation.