
Pano Christou has been CEO of Pret A Manger since October 2019. Pano’s journey with Pret began 25 years ago when he joined the Carnaby Street shop as an Assistant Manager. He worked his way up through the business to become Managing Director of Pret UK in 2014 and Chief Operating Officer at the start of 2019. Pano also sits on the board of Scandinavian coffee chain, Espresso House, and is one of the Trustees for Pret’s charitable arm, The Pret Foundation, which aims to help to break the cycle of homelessness.
Over the past five years, Pano has led the transformation of Pret’s business model in response to rapid changes in customer behaviour – moving away from the “follow the skyscraper” model which had underpinned Pret’s growth in recent decades, to a new strategy built around following the customer and bringing Pret’s freshly prepared food and organic coffee to more people. Today Pano’s focus is on bringing the Pret brand to new countries and regions, working with franchise partners.
Under his leadership, Pret’s footprint has grown significantly. The business now operates in 21 markets across 4 continents and £1 in every £4 is spent outside the UK, making Pret a truly international brand.