Domino’s CEO First To Go Undercover

Media release 11 July 2011

Domino’s CEO First To Go Undercover

Kiwis will get a rare behind-the-scenes look at pizza company, Domino’s Pizza, when CEO Don Meij goes undercover in the business in the premiere of TV ONE’s Undercover Boss Australia.

With a career spanning more than 20 years in the pizza industry, Meij started his Domino’s journey as a pizza delivery driver in the Brisbane suburb of Redcliffe while studying to be a teacher before quickly rising through the ranks.

Meij says it was working as a delivery driver he realised a career in the pizza business was the one for him.

“I saw so much potential in the pizza business while I was delivering pizzas and I absolutely loved it. The thought of doing something I loved and making a living out of it was fantastic, that’s really when my Domino’s journey started,” he says.

It was this passion for the hustle and bustle of store life, coupled with the opportunity to go undercover to examine the inner workings of the Domino’s business which cemented his decision to take part in Undercover Boss Australia.

“It’s been more than 10 years since I’ve worked in-store and like any business a lot can change in that time. This experience gave me the opportunity to go into our stores as someone else, do the everyday jobs and discover for myself what we are doing great and what we need to fix.

“At the same time I wanted to meet the people in our stores who go the extra mile to make a difference and make Domino’s what it is today,” Meij says.

Overall Meij says the experience was fantastic, not only for him but for Domino’s Pizza as a business moving forward.

“The opportunity gave me the chance to really see how our business is going operationally. It’s easy to make decisions around a boardroom table but until you’ve seen how these decisions are implemented within a store, it’s hard to actually know if what we are doing is working,” Meij says.

Meij says the hardest part of the whole experience was making sure his real identity wasn’t discovered.

“As part of my disguise I had to grow a beard and I’ve never done that before! Secondly I had to act as though I knew nothing about Domino’s, which was even more difficult. There were times during filming when I really had to stop myself from talking about what I knew.

“I saw so many great ideas and things which could be done better, but I couldn’t say anything otherwise I risked being uncovered,” Meij says.

Undercover Boss Australia, featuring Domino’s Pizza as the launch episode, kicks off Tuesday 12th July at 8.30pm on TV ONE.

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