Suzi Marshall, Regional Director of Operations, talks us through her 20 year, and counting, career at Pizza Hut.
Restaurant Management
I left college with a qualification in Hotel Management and Institutional Catering and wanted to get into the Restaurant business. When I was aged 15 I'd worked at Pizza Hut, cleaning tables at weekends in a restaurant in Edinburgh. I'd had a great time so it seemed the obvious place to begin. I joined what, at the time, was Edinburgh's busiest restaurant as an Assistant Manager and here's how quickly things moved. Within a year I'd been promoted to Deputy manager, with responsibility for a team of 45 people. Two years later, and with a lot of training under my belt, I was running my own restaurant. And just a couple of years after that I was back in Edinburgh, running the restaurant where it all started. That's the thing about Pizza Hut, hard work and initiative never goes unnoticed.
New Restaurant Opening
Next up came the chance to manage a new restaurant opening and being an ambitious person I jumped at it. I had to recruit and train up my team, got involved planning the design and layout of the restaurant and for the next 18 months I had a great time running the place. But there's always something new around the corner. This time, Pizza Hut's Development Centre designed a course to give Restaurant General Managers the skills to take them to the next level.
Area Management
The next level was responsibility for six Restaurants across the north of Scotland. That number quickly grew to 13. I was only 29 years old and I felt like I'd achieved so much - I'd even won 'Area of the Year' two years running. But things didn't stop there. I was given responsibility for supporting three other Area Managers in a role that also gave me exposure to a number of our Board Directors - and that opened up new avenues.
Regional Director of Operations
20 years in and my patch now includes 93 Restaurants in 10 areas stretching from Liverpool to the top of Scotland. I'm kept busy moving between locations spreading our vision of being the No.1 casual dining experience to each of our teams, making sure our menu is hero and our people are passionate about what they do.
The Future
It could be a move into a different brand or even abroad. Who knows? All I do know is that every few years I feel like I'm part of a whole new business - and that's what keeps me motivated and loving what I do.
