Ozone Coffee Roasters International (OCRI), a specialty coffee roastery and hospitality group in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, has announced the appointment of Lizzie Gurr to the role of Chief Executive Officer.
The company has also appointed Dale Harris, former Head of Business Development and the 2017 World Barista Champion, to UK Chief Operating Officer. The OCRI group includes the Ozone Coffee Roasters, Hasbean and West Coast Cocoa brands.
“I am incredibly proud to lead our team as CEO, and excited for the opportunity that lies ahead for our brands and team. It has been a humbling and gratifying experience to be a part of everything this team has accomplished in the last few years, and I’m excited to lead our team in ushering a new era of continued success for our community and business,” says Gurr.
During her tenure as Chief Operating Officer, Gurr managed a global team while building and scaling Ozone’s business in London and wholesale operations throughout the UK, as well as integrating the successful acquisition of UK specialty coffee brand Hasbean in 2018. As CEO, Gurr is focused on delivering OCRI’s growth plans in the UK and New Zealand and helping to steward the company’s long-term growth and expansion vision.
“We are thrilled to appoint Lizzie into the role of CEO. Not only does Lizzie bring exceptional experience in hospitality, operations, and management, she has a legacy understanding of the values and culture we continue to champion at OCRI and as industry leaders,” says Craig Macfarlane, who acquired Ozone Coffee Roasters in 2000 and will move into a Board of Directors role as part of a planned transition.
In his role as COO UK Dale Harris will oversee the UK strategy and operations alongside OCRI’s senior leadership team.
In the next five years, the company is focused on scaling e-commerce and operations to bolster OCRI’s digital presence and support online sales of its specialty coffee, home brewing equipment and merchandise.
OCRI is also focused on expanding its wholesale offering and service to continue scaling a global network of partners to reach new business. The company will also aim to grow its physical footprint by opening strategically located coffee-focused cafés and expand its product offering with a growing list of rare single origins and introducing compostable, organic, and decaf home coffee pod capsules.
Finally, OCRI will aim to double down on its sustainability commitments to align with B Corp certification over the coming months.
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