Former Twitter Canada managing director Paul Burns is now wearing the Playoff Pants at SkipTheDishes, after being announced as the food delivery company's new CEO on Tuesday. He is the third person this year to hold the role.
Burns, whose career has also included stops at advertising agency Huge and Shaw Communications, replaces interim CEO Steve Puchala, who is retiring at the end of the year.
Burns, whose career has also included stops at advertising agency Huge and Shaw Communications, replaces interim CEO Steve Puchala, who is retiring at the end of the year.
Puchala replaced former chief executive Howard Migdal in March, after the latter was promoted to a North American role within Skip's parent company, Just Eat Takeaway.com, and named CEO of its sister company, Grubhub.
In a LinkedIn post announcing his appointment, Burns described Skip, which launched in Saskatoon in 2012, as "the definition of a Canadian innovation success story, having evolved from a tech start-up built in the Prairies just 11 years ago to a leading food delivery network that services millions of Canadians from coast-to-coast each year."
Just Eat Takeaway.com said in a release that Burns will be tasked with building on Skip's "Canadian innovation success story," while establishing the company as a food delivery "trailblazer."
It added that in addition to possessing the requisite leadership and strategic vision, he brings "deep understanding of how to grow and scale operations" to the CEO role. Those skillsets, it said, were instrumental in his ability to build-out local technology and products that have been adopted by some of the world's most ambitious tech brands.
London based Just Eat acquired Skip for $110 million in 2016, and Just Eat was acquired by Dutch company Takeaway.com for $7.8 billion in 2020. The resulting company, Just Eat Takeway.com, consolidated its global advertising with McCann Worldgroup the next year.
Burns' appointment comes at a key juncture for SkipTheDishes, which now serves 250 cities and towns across Canada, and the food delivery industry as a whole, which has seen revenues fall after peaking during the pandemic. SkipTheDishes laid off approximately 350 members of its Canadian workforce last year, with a spokesperson telling CTV News Winnipeg that the changes were made to "best set the business and its partners up for sustainable growth."
And shortly after arriving at Grubhub, Migdal announced in June that he was laying off about 400 people, representing approximately 15% of its workforce. In the announcement, Migdal said that operating and staff costs were outpacing business growth.
"Rightsizing the business for where we are now—which includes ensuring we have the right resources and organizational structure focused on the right priorities—will allow us to be more agile, make bolder bets and take advantage of all of the opportunities on our doorstep," said Migdal announcing the layoffs.
In an email statement to The Message, Burns acknowledged that the food delivery segment has "vastly changed" since Skip's debut more than a decade ago.
"[W]e're seeing customers, couriers and restaurants seek out digital-first and technologically innovative experiences that prioritize ease of use and convenience first and foremost," he said. "As we continue to streamline our efforts and give back time so millions of Canadians can do more of the things they love, I'm looking forward to continuing to lead best-in-class efforts here at Skip and unlocking our full potential as Canada's homegrown delivery network."
Burns announced his departure from the former Twitter Canada on Nov. 4, 2022, just days after Elon Musk formally acquired the company. Speaking with The Globe and Mail , he suggested that he would incorporate some of what he learned from Musk into his new role, albeit in a more rational manner.
"Elon Musk pushes people into the realm of impossible, and I saw it firsthand,” he said. “He elevates the experience and the product to a place where most organizations say that cannot be done. That is an inspiring thing, and I hope to bring that thinking to Skip, but of course in a human way."
In a LinkedIn post announcing his appointment, Burns described Skip, which launched in Saskatoon in 2012, as "the definition of a Canadian innovation success story, having evolved from a tech start-up built in the Prairies just 11 years ago to a leading food delivery network that services millions of Canadians from coast-to-coast each year."
Just Eat Takeaway.com said in a release that Burns will be tasked with building on Skip's "Canadian innovation success story," while establishing the company as a food delivery "trailblazer."
It added that in addition to possessing the requisite leadership and strategic vision, he brings "deep understanding of how to grow and scale operations" to the CEO role. Those skillsets, it said, were instrumental in his ability to build-out local technology and products that have been adopted by some of the world's most ambitious tech brands.
London based Just Eat acquired Skip for $110 million in 2016, and Just Eat was acquired by Dutch company Takeaway.com for $7.8 billion in 2020. The resulting company, Just Eat Takeway.com, consolidated its global advertising with McCann Worldgroup the next year.
Burns' appointment comes at a key juncture for SkipTheDishes, which now serves 250 cities and towns across Canada, and the food delivery industry as a whole, which has seen revenues fall after peaking during the pandemic. SkipTheDishes laid off approximately 350 members of its Canadian workforce last year, with a spokesperson telling CTV News Winnipeg that the changes were made to "best set the business and its partners up for sustainable growth."
And shortly after arriving at Grubhub, Migdal announced in June that he was laying off about 400 people, representing approximately 15% of its workforce. In the announcement, Migdal said that operating and staff costs were outpacing business growth.
"Rightsizing the business for where we are now—which includes ensuring we have the right resources and organizational structure focused on the right priorities—will allow us to be more agile, make bolder bets and take advantage of all of the opportunities on our doorstep," said Migdal announcing the layoffs.
In an email statement to The Message, Burns acknowledged that the food delivery segment has "vastly changed" since Skip's debut more than a decade ago.
"[W]e're seeing customers, couriers and restaurants seek out digital-first and technologically innovative experiences that prioritize ease of use and convenience first and foremost," he said. "As we continue to streamline our efforts and give back time so millions of Canadians can do more of the things they love, I'm looking forward to continuing to lead best-in-class efforts here at Skip and unlocking our full potential as Canada's homegrown delivery network."
Burns announced his departure from the former Twitter Canada on Nov. 4, 2022, just days after Elon Musk formally acquired the company. Speaking with The Globe and Mail , he suggested that he would incorporate some of what he learned from Musk into his new role, albeit in a more rational manner.
"Elon Musk pushes people into the realm of impossible, and I saw it firsthand,” he said. “He elevates the experience and the product to a place where most organizations say that cannot be done. That is an inspiring thing, and I hope to bring that thinking to Skip, but of course in a human way."
