Nestlé loses Tyas, Burger King loses Kisilevsky

David Kisilevsky

Two of the biggest food brands in the world have seen the resignation of two of their key management staff this week. For Nestlé UK, Chris Tyas, Head of Supply Chain has announced his decision to stand down from his IGD roles - including Co Chair for ECR UK and Vice Chairman on Industry Standards Organisation GS1. For Burger King, it is top European marketer David Kisilevsky who is leaving the company.

Kisilevsky has been vice-president of marketing for the EMEA region since 2008, having joined the chain in 2006. While it is unclear on the reason behind his departure or whether he is moving to a new job, the fast food giant has said a replacement will be appointed in due course.

An expert in fast food marketing, Kisilevsky spent 19 years at Leo Burnett running McDonald's advertising account before he joined Burger King. Once there, he was credited with developing Burger King's male-focused marketing and driving its shift to more premium offerings.

Famously, Kisilevsky was the man behind Burger King's £95 (€113) sandwich, named simply The Burger. Dubbed the ‘bling burger', it consisted of "succulent Japanese beef complemented with white truffles, onion tempura prepared in Cristal champagne and Italy's finest Pata Negra prosciutto."

At the time, Kisilvesky said, "The Burger is an extension of Burger King's quality burger menu and is aimed at burger aficionados, looking for the ultimate burger taste experience.

"It reflects our ongoing commitment to producing the best quality burgers for a range of different pockets and reinforces our quality credentials."

Nestlé's loss

For Nestle, Chris Tyas' decision to stand down from his IGD roles - including Co Chair for ECR UK and Vice Chairman on Industry Standards Organisation GS1 - will leave a big hole in the company.

Speaking to Supply Chain Analysis, Tarun Patel, Head of Supply Chain at IGD said: "As ECR UK Co-Chair, Chris has played a pivotal role in creating a step-change in our industry, helping it to become more collaborative and sustainable, and leading to a stronger and fitter food and grocery industry"

Tyas spearheaded plans to share standardised product data in the UK, despite supermarkets being slow to adopt this technology. Using 1Sync global data synchronisation (GDS) systems to speed Polish imports, demand was anticipated from a growing Polish UK population.

"1Sync provides us with the ability to take information from our systems and translate those into any globally compliant tool, be it retailer specific or a public data pool like that of GS1," Tyas said at the time.

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