STORY: Ole & Steen has new CEO in Costa’s Jason Cotta

Jason Cotta, the former MD UK & Ireland for Costa Coffee, has been named CEO of Ole & Steen.

Ole & Steen is a premium bakery, coffee and foodservice chain, operating under the Lagkagehuset brand in Denmark, with 95 stores.

Former CEO Jesper Friis has resigned “for personal reasons”.

The company has a growing presence in London with 11 Ole & Steen branches that employ about 3,000 people between them, and there are also three branches in New York.

The company, which has its own in-house bakery production, operates a premium format that focuses on high-quality artisanal breads, cakes and pastries as well as tea and coffee.

Cotta started as operations director UK for Costa seven years ago, and resigned from his role as MD - International EMEA earlier this summer, to accept the position at Ole & Steen.

His CV also boasts posts at Travelodge, where he worked for more than four years, and TGI Fridays, where he was operations manager for eight years.

Henrik Brandt, Ole & Steen chairman, said “Jason Cotta has more than 20 years of extensive management experience with rollout and operation of strong fast-casual brands and concepts in and outside the UK.”

Cotta said he had followed Ole & Steen’s development over the past few years: “I am deeply impressed by the unique market position that Ole & Steen has established in such a short period of time,” he said. “I see a strong concept based on very high-quality products and services with significant potential for further growth and expansion.”