Board of directors

Duncan brings extensive leadership and board-level experience across hospitality, leisure and multi-site consumer businesses. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Empiric Student Properties PLC and has previously served as CEO of Punch Taverns, Bill’s Restaurants and Ten Entertainment Group. He has also held board roles as Chair of Small Beer Brewco and is currently Senior Independent Director for the Brighton Pier Group.

In addition to his UK operational expertise, Duncan brings substantial international franchising experience gained through senior roles with Alshaya, BAA and Eathos, Tortilla’s franchise partner in the Middle East. This combination of operational leadership, board governance and global franchising experience will be invaluable as Tortilla enters its next phase of growth in the UK and internationally.

Andy joined Tortilla in July 2017 as CFO and subsequently was announced as CEO in February 2024.

Andy joined Tortilla from Gaucho, where he was Head of Finance, a role which included overseeing the sale of the business to Equistone Partners. Andy started his career at Deloitte and holds an ACA qualification.

Andy’s commercial expertise and growth mindset have seen him play a critical role in shaping Tortilla’s multi-channel and franchise business strategy over the past 7 years.

Brandon founded Tortilla in 2007 and led as CEO until 2014.

Brandon has also been Founder/CEO of REVL, Chairman of Red’s True Barbecue, and Interim Director of e-commerce for Arcadia Group. He currently advises TriSpan’s Rising Stars fund, a dedicated restaurant private equity programme, and is a NED for Thunderbird Fried Chicken Ltd and Mamma Roma Group.

Brandon started his career in Silicon Valley and has also worked as a consultant at Accenture and Booz Allen Hamilton. He holds an Electrical Engineering degree from Princeton and an MBA from London Business School.

Usman represents the interests of Auctor Group, Tortilla’s largest shareholder.

Usman is Managing Partner at Auctor, a holding company that builds and supports companies at the forefront of emerging technology. Auctor owns and operates strategic assets where there are long-term opportunities to disrupt and transform legacy industries by leveraging technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence.

Usman serves on the Board of Kaikaku, a company reinventing the quick-service restaurant industry with proprietary hardware and software. Prior to joining Auctor, Usman was a Partner at emerging markets investment firm Mobius Capital Partners and an Investment Analyst at New York based equity fund Caravel Management.

Francesca brings a wealth of business development, franchise, finance and M&A experience and she has been involved in the successful expansion of many branded businesses across the European QSR market, in both advisory and senior finance positions.

Francesca is currently a Partner and Co-Founder of Kikkirossi, a European boutique advisory firm specialising in international franchise and brand development.

Previously, she has held a number of director and CFO roles in European hospitality businesses, including eight years at Yum! Brands Inc., the owner and operator of household names including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, where she held European CFO and Commercial Director positions.

Keith brings a wealth of leadership experience gained across a broad range of consumer-focused businesses.

He has held senior positions at companies operating across a wide range of sectors including retail, leisure, and hospitality. He was previously Finance Director and Company Secretary at JD Wetherspoon plc, Group Finance Director at Go-Ahead plc, Chief Financial Officer at Dunelm plc and, most recently, Finance Director of Selfridges Group. He is currently the Senior Independent Director and Audit Committee Chair of Topps Tiles plc.

Keith has the role of Tortilla’s Senior Independent Director (SID) and Chair of the Audit Committee.