Ovchinnikov, the founder of Dodo Pizza, named the new CEO of the company

The new CEO of Dodo Brands, which owns the Dodo Pizza, Drinkit and Doner 42 franchises, from January 2024 will be the former CEO of the Dodo Pizza USA chain and Dodo Pizza franchisee Alena Tikhova. She will replace Fedor Ovchinnikov as the founder of the company, who will remain a shareholder and a member of the board of directors. Ovchinnikov himself announced this during a speech at the annual congress of Dodo Pizza partners.

Ovchinnikov announced plans to leave the post of CEO of Dodo Brands, as well as the search for a successor in his Telegram channel in January 2023. At the moment, the restaurant group of three brands includes 957 own and franchised outlets in 18 countries. In 2022, the revenue of Dodo Brands in all countries of presence amounted to 58 billion rubles, in plans for 2023 – to increase it to 70 billion rubles, a company representative told Vedomosti.

Previously, Tikhova was a Dodo Pizza franchisee in Khimki, and after the company entered the US market, she became the CEO of the Dodo Pizza USA management company (the network worked in the country from 2015 to 2020), a Dodo Brands representative specified. “One of the main keys to the growth of the company is separation from its founder,” Ovchinnikov explained the decision. According to him, Tikhova was chosen as the new CEO because she is well acquainted with the company’s culture and approach to doing business.

After leaving the post of general director, Ovchinnikov himself will remain on the board of directors and will develop the Drinkit coffee shop chain, which operates in Russia, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates. “I will remain a shareholder, a member of the board of directors, I will influence the strategy, culture and principles of the company,” the entrepreneur explained. “In addition, I will be developing Dodo’s startup concepts, which I see great potential for growth in global markets.” As a representative of Dodo Brands specified, Ovchinnikov owns 41% of the company’s shares, the remaining shares are divided between private investors and management.

“My task for the next five to seven years is to strengthen Dodo’s position in existing markets and expand our international presence. We intend to enter new countries,” Tikhova said. A representative of Dodo Brands specified to Vedomosti that in 2023 the company plans to enter the new markets of Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Cyprus.