Who We Are

Aly Janmohamed

Chairman, Founder, Co-Ceo

Aly founded Soul Foods Group in 1985 with the acquisition of his first KFC restaurant in East Finchley, London, England. He is an entrepreneurial leader with a passion for people, deeply-rooted family values and a commitment to giving back to the community. He has tenaciously led the growth of this family-owned business to over 380 restaurants comprising KFC, Taco Bell and Starbucks brands across the United Kingdom and Canada.

Shehzad Janmohamed

Co-Ceo

Shehzad began his business career in the International banking arena in London after graduating with first class honors from the London School of Economics. Joining the family business in 2010 he relocated to Canada where he established the Canadian arm of the business, leading the acquisition of over 200 KFC’s and Taco Bell restaurants. A combination of his strong inherited values, a strategic and commercially-focused mindset, balanced with a fun and charismatic people leadership style ensures continued business growth across the Soul Foods Group.

Angela Shen

Group Chief Financial Officer

Angela brings a robust background in the Consumer Package Goods (CPG) sector, and a wealth of experience in financial leadership managing the end-to-end financial aspects of the business. As Group Chief Financial Officer, Angela is responsible for overseeing the company’s financial strategy across the UK and Canada to support the long-term goals and business growth. Her key responsibilities include Financial Reporting and Accounting Excellence, Financial Strategy & Planning, Capital allocation, and Treasury & Risk Management. A seasoned leader, Angela fosters a high-performance finance team and is passionate about optimizing the finance blueprint through development and upskilling in meeting the evolving needs of the business. Angela is also a strong change agent focusing on digitalizing and modernizing the tools and systems. Angela joined Soul in April 2021 after spending 14 years with The Coca-Cola Company. Angela holds an MBA in Accounting and is a CMA, CPA.

Bernie Green

General Manager, Canada

Bernie leads Soul’s Canadian division as a highly accomplished Human Resources and Business leader with global expertise. He is an energetic and collaborative leader, who leverages a people-first mindset to drive business growth and profit. Coupled with strong commercial acumen, Bernie’s communication and interpersonal skills have helped him build strong teams and scale the business.

Bruce Layzell

General Manager, UK

Bruce is the General Manager of the Soul Foods UK business and leads the real estate team. He has a broad career spanning construction, telecommunications and quick service restaurants. Bruce spent 10 years with Yum! where he lead the KFC brand expansion across the African continent. He leads a strong brand leadership team and looks to empower them and unleash their individual skills and experience to drive results.

Graham Hunt

Chief Information Officer

Graham graduated University with a degree in Economics and Econometrics and started working in the Abbey National Bank as a Financial Statistician, later moving into Operational Research in the 1980’s. Graham began his career in IT as a Business Analyst and progressed through the different disciplines to become IT Director / CIO in early 2000’s. Graham has worked in the Hospitality Industry for over 30 years, working in many start up markets across Europe (opening the first Pizza Huts in Moscow, Poland and several other markets), and moved to Canada in 2011 to assist with the establishment of Soul Restaurants Canada Inc.

Deborah Matos

Senior Vice President, Development & Construction

As the Senior Vice President, Development & Construction, Deborah is responsible for leading the expansion and upgrade of our restaurant portfolio. Deborah brings over 20 years of experience to the role, having worked prior to Soul leading the national Development teams for Bell Canada and The Source. Prior to this, Deborah has an extensive background within the QSR industry having enjoyed leadership roles with Cara Foods, Second Cup and YUM! (KFC and Taco Bell).

Ryan Bayley

HR Director

Ryan is an accomplished leader with over 20 years of diverse HR experience. With a strong belief that employees are at the heart of any successful business, Ryan is dedicated to investing in their growth, well-being, and engagement, knowing that it leads to stronger performance and retention. He is passionate about fostering a workplace culture where trust and open communication thrive—achieved through transparency, fairness, and recognition.

Stephen Hollis

Operations Director, Starbucks

Stephen began his career in Operations following over Eight years in the Royal Navy. Starting off as an Area Manager for companies like Greene King, Pizza Hut and Nandos, Stephen was quickly promoted to Regional Director where he oversaw the Operations team In London and the South East of England. In May 2022 Stephen joined Soul Foods Group to lead the Starbucks business. Stephen loves his role because “The ever changing landscape and diverse nature of the role means no two days are ever the same and working with some of the most talented people to ultimately solve problems is the thing that has kept me going over the last two decades.”

Ann Cooper

Operations Director, KFC

With an extensive operational background in KFC starting out as a team member and progressing over time into store, area and regional operational management Ann has a track record of driving business success through heart led leadership.

A family-owned business

About us

Soul Foods

Leadership

Aly Janmohamed

Shehzad Janmohamed

Angela Shen

Bernie Green

Bruce Layzell

Soul Foods

Canada Leadership Team

Graham Hunt

Deborah Matos

Ryan Bayley

Soul Foods

UK Leadership Team

Stephen Hollis

Ann Cooper

Our Mission

Our Vision