As a People leader, I’ve long observed how organisational structures, business processes, lack of required skill sets and leadership decisions can shape the success or failure of a business. One story that recently caught my attention is that of Pizza Hut UK, which, as of October 2025, has entered administration,closing 68 restaurants and 11 delivery-only sites, affecting approximately 1,210 colleagues.
What makes this particularly instructive is not just the scale of the impact, but the series of strategic choices leading up to it.
A Unique Approach to People and Marketing
Pizza Hut UK was once notable for combining People and Marketing under a single executive, a structure that recognised the connection between brand promise and employee experience. Kathryn Austin, who held this combined role, won awards for her leadership, showing how alignment between people and business strategy can deliver tangible results.
In January 2024, the company shifted to separate leadership for Marketing and People, likely as part of a wider restructuring effort. Jana Ulaite was appointed Chief Marketing Officer to drive a younger, more digital-first, and culturally relevant brand. While well-intentioned, this fresh leadership, capital investment, and the high-profile hire of Gino Casciani (ex-KFC, Pret A Manger) as CEO specifically to lead brand modernisation and accelerate growth, did not prevent the decline that followed.
The Bigger Picture
The failure of Pizza Hut UK underscores a key principle: structural or leadership changes alone are not enough. Even with award-winning executives and strategic capital infusions, organisations can fail if they rely on short-term fixes, maintain traditional assumptions, overlook systemic gaps and are slow to respond to external market forces. Rising labour costs, inflation, changing consumer behaviour, and market volatility all played a role, but deeper lessons lie in the organisational approach itself.
It reminds me of a time when a former CEO insisted that I get him a high-profile hire from a direct competitor, despite my advice that this alone wouldn’t address the core issues or drive growth. As it turned out, it didn’t! What was truly needed was a thorough review of skillsets, processes, systems, structures and mind-sets to ensure alignment and build a strong, sustainable framework, and this is where organisation design and development is invaluable.
Across the UK hospitality sector, other chains, including Byron Burger, Prezzo, and TGI Fridays, have faced similar challenges. The trend is clear: resilience requires foresight, not reaction.
Lessons for Leaders
From this case, several principles emerge:
· Align people strategy with business strategy: Employees are central to delivering any brand promise. Their mind sets, skill sets, qualifications, experience, approach and understanding of the business matter.
· Embrace unconventional talent and ideas: Outliers can provide insights that traditional structures overlook. Don’t be scared to be an outlier!
· Avoid reactive, short-term fixes: Sustainable change requires a holistic approach, not a short-term fix that doesn’t address root causes.
· Understand the market and organisational gaps: Bold decisions must be informed by evidence and proper reviews, not assumptions or superficial insights.
The question for all leaders is simple yet profound: How can we ensure that our structures, talent investments, and business strategies are future-proof, resilient, and truly aligned with our goals?
The story of Pizza Hut UK is a sobering reminder, but also an opportunity. It challenges all of us in Organisation Development, and across executive leadership, to think differently, act boldly, and design organisations that can withstand the complexities of the modern market.
Contact us to discuss a full organisation design and development review to support your business strategy.
