Italian restaurant chain Prezzo is aiming to shake up its customer experience strategy with the appointment of a former Pret A Manger, Yo! Sushi Bar and Barclaycard chief as its new chief marketing officer.
Mark McCulloch has most recently been running his own consultancy, Supersonic Inc, and will continue to do so, dedicating three days a week to the Prezzo role.
The move follows the hiring of new chief executive James Brown, who joined the Cain International firm in September 2024 after serving as CEO of BrewDog’s bar division for nearly nine years. Previous CEO Dean Challenger has now resumed his role as chief financial officer.
Brown is leading Prezzo’s recovery plan, following a torrid 2022/23 which saw the business close 46 of its UK restaurants, almost a third of its total. The closures were due to rising costs for ingredients and energy, as well as the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and inflation.
McCulloch started his career at catering group Sodexo as an account manager on 2001 and then had a spell at Tableau before taking up the role of global group head of brand at Lastminute.com, a job he held for nearly five years.
He then moved to Barclaycard as global senior brand manager and Yo! Sushi as head of marketing before switching to Blinkbox and then Pret a Manger.
Since 2013, McCulloch has worked in non-exec and advisory roles for a number of dining brands, including Dishoom, the Black Rock Restaurant Group and Rosa’s Thain. He has also worked for Brighton Fringe and smart energy firm Powerverse; he launched his consultancy in 2019.
McCulloch said: “I’ve always admired the brand’s rich heritage, serving Italian favourites up and down the UK for the past 25 years.
“The opportunity to work with James Brown and the Prezzo team to help grow the well-loved brand is a challenge I can’t wait to get my teeth into. With my experience working with the best brands in the hospitality sector across the globe, I’m confident we can create something incredible that the team will be proud of and that will excite our guests, current and new.”
James Brown added: “Mark’s reputation in the industry speaks volumes. His work with brands like Pret A Manger, Yo! Sushi, Dishoom and Rosa’s Thai has demonstrated his ability to innovate, adapt and lead in competitive markets, making brands both busier and more famous.
“We’re thrilled to have him on board and look forward to working together as we refresh and evolve Prezzo and take it as a team to the next level.”
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