Former Greene King COO joins RedCat as new CEO
Richard Lewis has a long and extensive career in retail and has been in the pub sector since he joined Greene King in 2011 as the managing director for local pubs
RedCat Pub Company has announced the appointment of the former Greene King chief operating officer, Richard Lewis, as its new chief executive officer. He succeeds Phil Birbeck in the role, effective 2 October.
Lewis has a long and extensive career in retail and has been in the pub sector since he joined Greene King in 2011 as the managing director for local pubs. He took the role of chief operating officer in 2017.
Prior to Greene King, he was SSP’s CEO in the UK and Ireland.
RedCat has grown strongly since inception in February 2021, having acquired over 100 pubs and pub hotels, now amounting to a hotel room estate of over 1,400 rooms.
Rooney Anand, executive chairman of RedCat Pub Company, said: “Richard is a fantastic addition to the RedCat team. We are now, after two years, a fully functioning Pub Co and Richard’s experience of driving performance, as well as his proven capabilities as a leader, will really help RedCat push on even more.
“We are sincerely grateful to Phil for his effort and support since he joined us. He has played a key role in helping to recruit and build the RedCat team and to further develop our operating platform. We wish him and his family every success in the future.”
Lewis added: “I’m delighted to be back in pubs and working with Rooney and RedCat. I am looking forward to helping to further build the business, driving RedCat forward and taking it to the next level.”
