PAUL Bakery & Restaurant

PAUL Bakery & Restaurant caters to the French way of life that is reflected in its selection of bread, viennoiserie, pâtisserie, sandwiches, soups and salads and a selection of signature French dishes.

Mission
PAUL Bakery & Restaurant is passionate about bread and reflects the French tradition where possible; the value of quality and fresh produce is at the heart of its success.

Description
Since 1889, PAUL Bakery & Restaurant has stayed true to the heritage of French rustic cooking and traditional baking, distinguishing itself for its fine breads baked in the bakeries which are in full view for the customers, and its wide selection of quality French casual dining dishes and mouthwatering desserts.
PAUL, Maison de Qualité, is today very much part of France’s culinary and cultural heritage

About PAUL Bakery & Restaurant
PAUL’s success story dates back to its start as a humble bakery in northern France over 125 years ago. The enormous respect for tradition and the use of the finest quality ingredients have made PAUL what it is today – a very successful family-run business with over 535 shops in 30 countries. With a vast expansion plan by the Middle East franchise holder AZADEA LLC, 17 new stores are set to open in 2015, in addition to their 42 branches currently operating across eight countries in the Middle East & North Africa.

Maxime Holder

In 1995, after studying law and obtaining his diploma from Sciences Po in Paris, Maxime began his professional career with the Holder Group.  His apprenticeship lasted for more than a year during which time he learnt the Group’s base trades : baking and pastry making.  He then worked as a baker at PAUL and did in-house training at artisan bakeries before completing his training spending six months in pastry making at Ladurée and Lenôtre in Paris. 

In order to consolidate his competences as a Manager, Maxime decided to look for experience outside of the family Group and he worked as a consultant with Arthur Andersen (Accenture) where he looked after some 50 clients in France and abroad.  He developed his management skills in this financial environment.  
At the end of 1998, Maxime returned to the Holder Group and worked in Operations, firstly as a Shop Manager, then as a trainee Regional Manager before being appointed Regional Manager in charge of 11 shops.

In 1999, the Holder Group decided to open a shop in London.  Not only was this a formidable challenge but also a chance for Maxime to retrace his paternal grandfather’s steps since Julien Holder was born in London.  The first PAUL shop in London opened in Covent Garden in December 2000 and a second was to follow shortly afterwards.

Maxime returned to France in 2002 following his appointment as Manager of the network of shops in France: responsible for overseeing the operations of 200 branch shops as well as the support functions of the brand such as HR, Marketing, Financial Control, Quality and Technical Services.

In 2004, Maxime was appointed Director of the Franchise network of shops and in order to accompany the development of the brand he set up both the management of the Franchise in France and the management of the Franchise abroad (40 shop openings/year).

Since 2006, Maxime has held the position of CEO of PAUL and is currently Chairman of PAUL International with the intention of developing the company on the international markets.