Gail's loses its MD and operations chief in reshuffle
Nick Ayerst and Edyta Stec have left the bakery chain as three new senior hires take over operations, property and acquisitions.
Gail's has lost two of its most senior executives, with managing director Nick Ayerst and operations director Edyta Stec both leaving the bakery chain as three new senior appointments take their place.
A Gail's spokesperson confirmed the departures and said the business had recently welcomed three new senior hires to support its continued growth. Ayerst, who joined in March 2025 from Comptoir Group, posted on LinkedIn that he was moving on to "the next adventure." Stec had led operations since March 2021.
Three replacements arrive at once
Moving on to the next adventure.
Stephen Clark, previously chief operating officer at the Mexican chain Tortilla, becomes Gail's new COO. Keith Janes, who spent seven years as property director at The Restaurant Group, takes on the equivalent role at Gail's. Axel Bret joins as head of acquisitions, a role aimed squarely at the chain's expansion plans.
Chief executive Tom Molnar remains in charge, according to the company, with the reshuffle confined to the layer beneath him rather than at the very top.
A chain still weighing its next move
The departures follow a year of rapid change at the top of Gail's, a chain that has grown from a single Hampstead bakery into one of the best-known names on the British high street. In June, the company named Harry Goss managing director of international as it explores expansion beyond the UK, a role distinct from Ayerst's domestic brief. Gail's property chief Michelle Pollard-Smith left for rival chain Loungers earlier this year, before Janes' arrival filled the gap she left behind.
The reshuffle also lands as Gail's owners are reported to have hired bankers to weigh a sale that could value the chain at up to £500 million, a backdrop that tends to accelerate turnover in a company's senior ranks, whether or not the two are directly connected. For a chain built on consistency, store by store, the test now is whether three new names at once can keep that machinery running without a stumble.
