Barnaby Dawe is leaving Pret at the end of the year to return to the world of media and ecommerce, with the brand as yet unclear how it will fill his role.
Pret A Manager’s chief customer officer, Barnaby Dawe, has quit after spending just over a year with the company.
Dawe joined to head up marketing and communications in the newly created role in October 2018, as well as lead its growing ecommerce business.
However, he joined at a difficult time for Pret as it has faced multiple challenges, including lawsuits over its failure to put allergy information on its packets.
Last year, a coroner warned that the lack of allergen labeling on a Pret sandwich resulted in the death of a teenager in 2016. Pret is also facing the prospect of another trial after the death of a woman due to an allergic reaction in 2017.
Away from these challenges, Pret has looked to expand, buying rival Eat with the intention of turning them into Veggie Prets.
Dawe is also credited with streamlining the brand’s marketing communications, providing clear guidelines on brand content. He has also re-energised its catering business and helped produce a platform and plan for growth and transformation in the coming years.
Pret confirms the end of the Eat brand to ‘turbocharge’ Veggie Pret
Pret CEO Pano Christou says: “Barnaby has made an invaluable contribution over the last year and I’m personally grateful for this. He’s played an important role in the work we have done to win back trust with our customers and stakeholders, and he leaves Pret in a much stronger position than when he joined.
“On behalf of everyone at Pret, I want to wish him all the best for the future.”
Dawe is said to be keen to return to the world of media and ecommerce, where he has spent most of his career.
Prior to Pret, Dawe was Just Eat’s global CMO for three years, during which time he was credited with “transforming” the brand and its approach to marketing. Before that, Dawe held various senior marketing roles at brands including Sky, News UK and Channel 4.
Dawe will be leaving at the end of the year with Pret yet to decide how it will fill his role.
This article originally appeared in MarketingWeek.
