Pret A Manger CEO’s job history goes viral with social media users praising the executive who left school at age 16 and worked his way up through McDonald’s and Blockbuster

• Pano Christou left school at age 16 and worked at McDonalds for £2.75 an hour 
• Now the CEO of high street chain Pret, Twitter users are in awe at his progression
• READ MORE: Hack for getting 50% off your Pret coffee subscription  

Social media users are in awe of the CEO of Pret A Manager’s job history, as he worked his way up the corporate ladder from McDonald’s. 

Pano Christou came from a humble background in Tooting, South London where his half-Greek, half Italian father worked as a minicab driver and his mother was a nurse from Cyprus. 

The married father-of-two left school at 16 and worked at McDonald’s on a low salary. He has since gone on to join Pret, rising through the ranks and eventually becoming CEO of the high street coffee chain. 

In a recent Twitter post, Mr Christou’s Linkedin profile has gone viral, showing 14 different positions and various manager roles during his time at McDonald’s and Pret. 

The CEO of Pret A Manager Pano Christou came from humble origins and worked at McDonald’s for just £2.75 an hour but now rakes in £400,000 a year

The CEO’s Linkedin profile reveals he has had 10 different positions at the company, including General Manager and Head of Operations

Mr Christou’s Linkedin profile (pictured) has gone viral on Twitter, and users are in awe of his experience

His job description revealed he spent a total of 5 years and two months at the McDonald’s Corporation working as a floor manager, assistant manager and store manager.  

Mr Christou even endured a brief seven-month stint at the since-closed video store Blockbuster, but jumped ship long before it sank in 2000. 

He joined Pret as an assistant manager in 2000 at the age of 22 and after nearly two decades at the company, became CEO in October 2019. 

His Linkedin profile reveals he has had 10 different positions at the company, including 4 years and 2 months as a General Manager and 3 years 2 months as Head of Operations.  

Mr Christou became the company’s third CEO following Julian Metcalfe and his mentor Clive Schlee, who was chief executive for 18 years. 

His salary stands at £400,000 a year, long off the £2.75 an hour he made on the McDonald’s floor. 

The chain boasts 448 and 121 overseas shops across the UK, and Mr Christou hopes to turn the franchise global and plans to double in size by 2026. 

Mr Christou joined Pret at aged 22 in 2000 as an assistant manager, and after two decades at the company became CEO

Pret has recently announced its new Autumn menu, with 26 seasonal items offered including the sought after Pumpkin Spiced Latte

But the Pret boss still thinks his workers should be paid fairly, he told The Mirror: ‘If you pay people what they should be paid, you shouldn’t have a staff problem. I want us to pay more than the competition.’

Pret announced in March 2023 that it was giving staff a third pay rise within a year, with baristas able to earn up to £11.80 to £14.10 an hour depending on location and experience.  

Since it was posted, Mr Christou’s job history has been viewed 1.4 million times and has nearly a hundred comments from   

One person wrote: ‘Diversity of experience is quite important,’ another added: ‘Pretty incredible.’

A third person wrote: ‘So, so rare to see this happen. Good for them.’ 

A fourth added: ‘I wish companies rewarded loyalty and encouraged people to move up the ranks rather than helicoptering in new faces whenever there’s a business panic.’ 

Twitter users were in awe of Mr Christou’s extensive job history saying it is ‘rare to see’ 

The viral tweet has raked in 1.4 million views and users flooded the comments to praise the CEO

One person said they had ‘chills’ at Mr Christou’s 20-year climb to the top of the ladder

Pret has recently announced its new Autumn menu, which offers 26 additional items on the menu, including soups, bakes, toasties and a desert collection. 

Customers can get their hands on the long-awaited Pumpkin Spiced Latte, and can even request an iced option for the seasonal drink. 

The British chain has various new savoury options, including the Layered and Loaded Chilli Chicken Nachos, the Italian Style Chicken and Basil Hot Wrap and the BBQ Pulled Pork and Pickles Hot Ciabatta.

Fans of the coffee chain can look forward to many more food and drink items including Pret’s brand-new hot Chocolate Chai.  

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