In the early hours of the new year, Pizza Hut chief executive Phil Reed’s spirits were nothing short of jubilant.

“December generally in our industry is the busiest month of the year. But on top of that, we had a record trading day on New Year’s Eve,” Reed tells the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

“So I was dancing and very, very happy on New Year’s Day.”

The pizza chain had just seen off a blockbuster year of 12 per cent same-store sales growth in 2021 - and that was coming on top of 21 per cent growth in 2020. Like other fast food chains (like Guzman y Gomez and Betty’s Burgers), Pizza Hut has profited immensely from the pandemic.

But Reed, who got the top job in April 2018 and refreshed the management team, says COVID was only a “slingshot” and that the business had been on an upwards trajectory years well before the coronavirus crisis came along.

“Just looking at the last three years, we’ve delivered just shy of 50 per cent same-store sales growth. That’s growth on growth on growth,” he says. “That means it cannot just be COVID-based.”

If Reed’s goal is to grow Pizza Hut’s presence in Australia and give Domino’s something to worry about, he has the business pedigree to do so. Under the Englishman’s belt are several decades of global experience at McDonald’s Europe, Burger King as well as Pizza Hut, spanning Munich, Amsterdam, the Philippines and Indonesia.

His time at these quick-service restaurant (QSR) giants, where he specialised in turnarounds, has shaped Pizza Hut Australia’s strategy: a laser focus on stellar customer service and ensuring stores are equipped with the best technology to deliver on that.

Under his direction, the 260-store chain has become Australia’s fastest-growing quick-service brand since the third quarter of 2020, according to market research firm NPD Group’s CREST.