Gousto CEO brings on board classmate to head operations.
They met at the Executive MBA programme at Cambridge Judge Business School, where both still study, and now Timo Schmidt and David Cruickshank will work together at fast-growing UK food company Gousto.
David, who was European Operations Director at auto-hire company Zipcar, is now joining Gousto as Executive Vice President of Operations, working closely with CEO Timo to roll out new systems and processes. Zipcar was acquired in 2013 by listed company Avis Budget Group, and David worked to integrate the two firms’ operational processes.
“We met in Cambridge, sharing a passion for cooking and entrepreneurship, and discussing all kinds of challenges after class,” Timo says. “David is full of fantastic ideas about how to keep momentum and really think big, and I couldn’t think of a better executive to join our leadership team, taking on the many challenges the rapid growth brings with it.”
David added:
It has been great to get to know Timo during our Executive MBA at Cambridge. His incisive leadership qualities are inspiring and Gousto’s growth has been very impressive. I’m very excited to be joining such a talented team.
At Gousto, David’s duties will include streamlining business operations in order to help the company scale fast amid continued profitable growth. Prior to joining Zipcar in 2011, he was a management consultant and co-founder of a software and e-commerce business.
Gousto, which was founded in 2012 by Timo and James Carter, has been featured in the UK government’s “Business is Great” campaign. The company’s customers choose meals online, and then Gousto delivers the right amount of ingredients to the person’s home so they can prepare bespoke meals. The company grew 1,000 percent last year.