Co-chief executive officers of Guzman Y Gomez,Hilton Brett (left) and founder Steven Marks (right).Credit:Brent Lewin
Brett was appointed to the role after working closely with Marks as acting chief financial officer following the departure of the last person in the role,Rebecca Lowde,who left in June after 11 months in the job.
“One of the most important things we need to do is recruit a chief financial officer,” Brett said.
Before joining TDM Growth Partners in 2018,Brett spent 11.5 years as co-CEO of Accent Group,the $1 billion ASX company that distributes clothing for streetwear and sneaker brands such as Glue Store,Hype,Platypus,Dr Martens,Athlete’s Foot,Vans and more.
Brett will take on the finance,IT,HR,legal,real estate and investor relation functions in the business,leaving Marks to focus on food,marketing,operations,and its US expansion.
The Mexican fast food chain,which sold$759 million worth of burritos,tacos,and bowls in the 2023 financial year,has “all the governance in place that any public company would have”,said Brett,who is watching for signs that global markets will improve before launching an initial public offering on the ASX.
“We’ll be ready,we would expect,in the next 18 months or so,” Brett said,adding there was no “firm date” but was looking at “potentially late 2024[or] 2025”.
“It’s determined by market conditions as well. It’s really about more stability and making sure the IPO window is open than anything else.”