CHENNAI: Westlife Foodworld Ltd. (formerly Westlife Development Ltd.) – owner and operator of McDonald’s restaurants in West and South India, has announced the elevation of Saurabh Kalra as the Managing Director (MD) of its subsidiary. Prior to this, Saurabh was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the organization. In this new role, Saurabh will focus on the overall business strategy and growth opportunities, driving the company’s long-term success while continuing to remain deeply involved in day-to-day operations.
Saurabh brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge gathered over his twenty-year-plus career with Westlife. Having started his career as a Management Trainee in 2002, Saurabh became one of the youngest Restaurant Managers. Over the years, he straddled roles across operations, training, real estate, strategy, and development functions, gradually and successfully transitioning from a restaurant-facing role to a CXO role. Saurabh was instrumental in launching and growing McCafe and the Experience of The Future (EOTF) restaurants in India. He was also an integral part of the team that established the McDonald’s brand in South India.
Saurabh has led several initiatives that have delivered significantly higher profitability and improved operational efficiencies. His deep commitment to excellence has helped Westlife to continue to be a leader in the QSR space even in a time of immense adversity brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Saurabh was also an active participant in crafting the 2022 Vision and has been playing a key role in operationalizing Vision 2027, along with Akshay Jatia, Executive Director, Westlife Foodworld.
Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman, Westlife Foodworld said, “We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Saurabh on his well-deserved promotion. It gives me great pride to see that, in keeping with our people philosophy, we have been able to develop careers and appoint someone internally for this critical role. Over the years, Saurabh has evolved as an incredible leader and a mentor within the organization. He is a motivated and passionate individual who always seeks to innovate and take on new challenges and we are confident that he will continue to lead Westlife to newer highs with his remarkable vision and strategy.
As we wish him the best, we would like to thank Smita Jatia, who has served as the organization’s Managing Director since 2010. Smita played an instrumental role in the growth trajectory of the company, driving innovative formats, and most importantly was instrumental in reviving the brand during and after COVID. Smita would continue to be an active member of the Westlife board. We are confident that these moves will further strengthen McDonald’s India (W&S) as the most loved and preferred QSR chain in the country.”
Saurabh Kalra, formerly Chief Operating Officer (COO), now Managing Director (MD) subsidiary of Westlife Foodworld said, “I am thrilled and humbled to be given the opportunity to lead the McDonald’s India (W&S) family as MD. It is an exciting time for us as we continue to drive our growth agenda and build on the iconic brand’s legacy. I am confident that I will leverage my commitment and industry experience to deliver best-in-class performance across business parameters that will enable us to take Westlife Foodworld to even greater heights.”
