Donald Jeffrey Meij (, born ) is an Australian business entrepreneur and the group chief executive officer and managing director of
Domino's Pizza Enterprises
Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited (DPE) is the largest pizza chain in Australia in terms of network stores numbers and network sales, as well as the largest franchisee for the US Domino's Pizza brand in the world.[Redcliffe, Queensland
Redcliffe is a town and suburb in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. It also refers colloquially to the Redcliffe Peninsula as a whole, a peninsula jutting into Moreton Bay which contains several other suburbs. Since the 1880s, Red ...]
, for Silvio's Dial-a-Pizza while studying to be a high school teacher, Meij fell in love with the business and has since worked his way up the ranks.
In May 2005, Meij led Domino's to become Australia's first publicly-listed pizza chain on the
Australian Stock Exchange
Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia as, ...
(ASX).
Early life
Meij, the middle child, was born in
Rockhampton
Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...
and grew up in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
for five years, then lived in north Queensland for five years before his family moved to
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
. He was raised in Brisbane along with two sisters. Meij attended Clontarf Beach State High School in Queensland and studied to be a teacher at the
Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The univ ...
, Kelvin Grove Campus, from 1987–1989 whilst working as a pizza delivery driver at Silvio's Dial-a-Pizza. He eventually left tertiary studies to pursue a career in the pizza industry.
Career
After working as a delivery driver for Silvio's Dial-a-Pizza in 1987, Meij was promoted to store manager in 1989. From 1991 to 1993, Meij climbed the corporate ladder, progressing from Area and State Operations Manager to Director of National Operations. In 1993, Silvio's Dial-a-Pizza acquired Domino's in Australia, and Meij became General Manager.
Meij became a Domino's franchisee in 1996, with his ex wife Esme, together building a network of 17 stores. In 2001, he sold his stores to Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd for 12.5% equity in the company. He became Chief Operating Officer in 2001 and then Chief Executive Officer in 2002.
In May 2005, Meij led Domino's to become Australia's first publicly-listed pizza chain on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). In 2013, Domino's acquired 75% of Domino's Japan and Meij made Australia's top CEO list.
Domino's Pizza Enterprise Limited now owns and operates more than 2,400 stores in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Japan, Germany, Luxembourg and Denmark.
In 2017, Meij celebrated 30 years with Domino's, which today is the market leader in most of the countries in which it operates.
Awards
*Pizza International Manager of the Year - 1996
*Brisbane Lord Mayor's Channel 7 Business Person of the Year Awards 2015
*The Ernst & Young Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year – 2004 and 2012
*Chairman's Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Domino's worldwide network - 2004
*Australian Institute of Management (AIM) Professional Manager of the Year 2004 (QLD)
*Included in Top 10 Australian CEOs list – 2013
*Lord Mayor's Business Award for Digital Champion – 2013
*Included in top 10 list of CEOs who deliver – 2015
*DPE first runner up in the Ferrier Hodgson Retail Growth Awards – 2015
*Listed as No. 4 on Business Insider's list of 100 Coolest People in Australian Tech - 2016
*Domino's named No. 20 on Forbes' Most Innovative Growth Companies - 2016
*Domino's inducted into Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame - 2018
Personal life
Meij is married to Jenny and resides in Brisbane, Queensland.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meij, Don
Australian businesspeople
1968 births
Living people