Thu 6th Jul 2017 - Tim Hortons appoints former Costa director as UK chief finance and commercial officer Tim Hortons appoints former Costa director as UK chief finance and commercial officer: Tim Hortons, the Canadian cafe and bake shop owned by Restaurant Brands, has appointed Kevin Hydes as its new UK chief finance and commercial officer. Hydes, who joined at the start of July having previously been at Costa Coffee, will oversee business strategy, brand execution and development in Great Britain. The roll-out of Tim Hortons in the UK is being led by SK Group, an experienced franchise operator that has already played a major role in the UK expansion of Domino’s Pizza. Tim Hortons opened its first UK site in Argyle Street, Glasgow, last month with a second due to open at the city’s Silverburn shopping centre this summer. It has just signed for a third site, at a retail park on the edge of Ayr. Hydes is charged with delivering a business plan that’s “rooted in customer insight and puts the customer first by offering the warmth, charm and efficiency they will come to expect at Tim Hortons”. Hydes previously spent 11 years at Costa Coffee, overseeing the marketing function in the UK during a significant period of growth, winning brand of the year in 2011 and becoming market leader in 2012. More recently in the role of international and brand development director he was responsible for managing and developing brand execution across equity international markets in Poland, Singapore and France and for franchise operations across 26 markets in Europe, the Middle East and south east Asia. Hydes said: “It’s not often you get the chance to help bring an international brand as exciting as Tim Hortons to the UK. The opportunity to lead and grow the business in a competitive market like Great Britain was too good to miss.” Tim Hortons UK and Ireland chief operating officer Gopi Dhaliwal said: “Kevin brings an enormous wealth of experience from his time at Costa Coffee, and his expertise of quickly scaling food and drink retail brands will be vital to our long-term ambitions in Great Britain.”