INTERVIEW
Paul Allen: from crisps to taking over a family bakery Ex-Tayto boss Paul Allen speaks to Emma Deighan about his bakery, new pasta company and what lies ahead for his burgeoning acumen amid an evolving economic landscape
new roles — and the rebrand of the business and its most famous lines from Genesis Crafty to Genesis. Before that he was at the helm of Co Armagh crisp giant Tayto for seven years during which he increased turnover from £15m to £250m.
European Economics at Queen’s University, he decided to become a pilot.
P
“I may have driven a lot of that strategy,” he says about the acquisitions that drove that rise in profits. But it’s important to say there was a team of people there who helped put together the vision.”
A serendipitous conversation with his sister’s colleague the night before he was to fly to England to begin his pilot degree would change that. “She said, ‘It’s very clear your interest is in business, not being a pilot. You’ve a couple minutes taking off and landing when you fly and the rest is done in autopilot and I think you want more from life, instead of spending time in autopilot’.”
Just last year, Paul took over McErlain’s Bakery in Magherafelt after it went into administration. He’s now announced a £750,000 investment and the creation of 35
Born and bred in south Belfast, Paul recalls his childhood as a happy, stable time. He has one younger brother and an older sister who he feels lucky to still be very close to today. Business wasn’t the original career path Paul chose. After completing his degree in
Instead of becoming a professional pilot, he studied for an MBA at Ulster University which led him to the role he is in today – though he does have a pilot’s licence. Paul fondly recalls his secondary school years at St Malachy’s Grammar in north Belfast.
aul Allen, executive chairman of bakery Genesis, has a reputation for boosting the fortunes of food businesses, or any business for that matter, but he’ll not take all the credit for it.
74