My Life in Numbers
Leo Koziel CA
Global Finance Director, Opera Gallery Group
As a child in the south of Poland, Leo Koziel CA had a passion for the arts. After relocating to England, and spending four years helping to fire up the new Burger King UK company, he has found his calling
Global Finance Director, Opera Gallery Group
As a child in the south of Poland, Leo Koziel CA had a passion for the arts. After relocating to England, and spending four years helping to fire up the new Burger King UK company, he has found his calling
1990
I was born in Rybnik in southern Poland in 1990. Growing up I loved the arts – cinema, concerts, movies, music, galleries, novels – as well as travelling.
2:1
I wanted to experience living in a different part of the world, so in 2011 I went to university in Bristol, which is a lovely city. It’s large, but not too big or overwhelming like London can be. I chose that university because it offered a degree in philosophy and economics. I was very interested in the former, but also wanted the latter because I had one eye on my career. I came away with a high 2:1.
2:1
I wanted to experience living in a different part of the world, so in 2011 I went to university in Bristol, which is a lovely city. It’s large, but not too big or overwhelming like London can be. I chose that university because it offered a degree in philosophy and economics. I was very interested in the former, but also wanted the latter because I had one eye on my career. I came away with a high 2:1.
4
I looked at the careers site and realised the majority of people studying economics went into accounting. So I looked at the Big Four and joined EY in Bristol, where all the trainees go through ICAS.
3
I spent three years in audit, which gave me the widest and most balanced experience with lots of different career options. Then I did corporation tax for a year, which built on what I’d learned through doing the CA.
24
Aged 24, I got the chance to work abroad for EY in Toronto and Chicago. It was really exciting to understand how people from different countries, cultures and backgrounds operate together. The work style in the US is very different – there are a lot of meetings, whereas it is more structured and results-driven in the UK.
24
Aged 24, I got the chance to work abroad for EY in Toronto and Chicago. It was really exciting to understand how people from different countries, cultures and backgrounds operate together. The work style in the US is very different – there are a lot of meetings, whereas it is more structured and results-driven in the UK.
4
After four years in professional services, I felt it was time to move into industry – and to London. The first job I applied for was at Burger King. My application was taking months and I thought it wasn’t going to happen, but I discovered why. Historically, all its UK restaurants had franchise agreements with Burger King Europe, based in Switzerland. But [private equity firm] Bridgepoint invested in a new company, BKUK, to consolidate and improve the brand in the UK. The group obtained master franchise rights and acquired the two largest franchisees. So despite the huge brand, the company itself was in start-up stage.
4
After four years in professional services, I felt it was time to move into industry – and to London. The first job I applied for was at Burger King. My application was taking months and I thought it wasn’t going to happen, but I discovered why. Historically, all its UK restaurants had franchise agreements with Burger King Europe, based in Switzerland. But [private equity firm] Bridgepoint invested in a new company, BKUK, to consolidate and improve the brand in the UK. The group obtained master franchise rights and acquired the two largest franchisees. So despite the huge brand, the company itself was in start-up stage.
165
Burger King UK had grown from 92 restaurants to 165 when I left, and it currently stands at around 250. Because it was a new company, we had to build – and I oversaw the financial processes from scratch. With my background, I knew what the auditors were looking for. But there is a difference between knowing what to do in theory and what works for the business, which was a great learning experience for me.
50%
We received a 50% discount on Burger King and could get one meal a day if we chose to. But I wasn’t eating burgers all the time.
2022
I spent four years at Burger King. The plan was to launch an IPO, which was a huge project. It was intense work. Just as we had the green light in early 2022 the war in Ukraine started. So that had all sorts of knock-on effects and we decided not to go ahead. Around the same time, I was approached by a recruiter.
16
The role of Finance Controller at Opera Gallery Group, which has 16 galleries around the world, was not only a step up but also the chance to do something very exciting. The CA qualification gives you such a wide range of skills that you can apply to so many different sectors. Burger King is a large-volume, low-margin business. The art world is low volume, high margin, but the principles are still the same.
30
The group celebrated its 30th birthday this year. We operate trading galleries – our core operation is buying and selling art. Apart from the artworks we purchase, we also have access to consigned works from auction houses and individual collectors. We display them in our galleries and sell them to private investors or other auction houses.
€100k
Our artworks range from contemporary to masterpieces. Contemporary pieces are what we classify as anything selling for less than €100,000 (£84,000), whereas masterpieces are anything above that. We’ve sold artworks from the likes of Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall and Manolo Valdes.
6
Nearly all the previous finance team had left within the six months before I joined, due to a combination of Brexit and Covid. We had an international team and many decided to move back home and didn’t return. So we had to rebuild, which was challenging but exciting. Having successfully done that I’ve since been promoted to Global Finance Director.
89
It’s always very difficult to know which artists are going to be in fashion. One of our contemporary artists who has become popular in recent years is Juan Genovés, who died in 2020, aged 89. He made such beautiful pieces. Most of his artworks show people from a bird’s eye view.
89
It’s always very difficult to know which artists are going to be in fashion. One of our contemporary artists who has become popular in recent years is Juan Genovés, who died in 2020, aged 89. He made such beautiful pieces. Most of his artworks show people from a bird’s eye view.
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