Costa Coffee names Jill McDonald as new CEO

The international coffee and cafe giant, Costa Coffee’s CEO Dominic Paul will step down from his current role by Nov. 30. Jill McDonald will succeed Paul and assume her new responsibilities as of Dec. 2. 

At Costa, Paul has seen the company through a turning point in the organizational life--sale of Costa Coffee to The Coca-Cola Company in Jan. 2019. He has also been instrumental in helping Whitbread separate from the coffeehouse giant in addition to enabling the company to focus on vending and ready-to-drink products. 

“Dominic led a significant reshaping of Costa’s international footprint, the expansion of the brand across multiple new platforms and a wide-ranging reset of the core UK business strategy,” said Jennifer Mann, President of Global Ventures at The Coca-Cola Company. 

McDonald, the new CEO of Costa Coffee, was previously the CEO of Halfords Group, a UK retailer of bikes, leisure products and automobile parts. She had also been the Managing Director of clothing and home at Marks & Spencer. Having held three different roles at McDonald’s Corporation from 2006 to 2015, she has also fulfilled the role of the CEO of its UK division and the President of its North Europe division. 

“I have long been a fan of Costa and have watched the company grow in the UK and far beyond,” McDonald said. She even serves as a board member of InterContinental Hotels Group and had been with British Airways from 1990 to 2006.

At Costa Coffee, McDonald will be reporting to Jennifer Mann, the President of Global Ventures, The Coca-Cola Company. 

“Her (McDonald’s) track record, depth of international experience and excitement about joining our business makes her an ideal leader to build on the great work of Dominic and the rest of the Costa team,” said Mann.