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More than twenty years in QSR, retail and hospitality technology

Steve Tiley’s career runs from corporate IT leadership at McDonald’s, through the IT services businesses he built and led across Europe, to board appointments with technology companies in software, mobile applications and logistics. He has taken four companies from single-country operations into multiple international markets.
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Steve Tiley Headshot

From IT Director to founder and chairman

01

McDonald’s and the move to founding

Steve was IT Director at McDonald’s from June 2002 to February 2007, with responsibility for customer-facing and in-house technology across more than 3,500 restaurants in the United Kingdom and nine Northern European countries. From October 2006 he was Systems Director at Vision Direct, a fast-growing optical chain, where systems were used to centralise the manufacturing and glazing process and reduce cost across the estate.
02

MDIS Services and Acrelec

MDIS Services was established in December 2007 as a multinational IT business serving the quick service restaurant, retail and hospitality sectors across Europe and North Africa. Its solutions covered help desk services, point of sale software, self-service kiosks, digital menu boards and click and collect systems. In parallel, from July 2007, Steve was Managing Director of Acrelec UK, established to take Acrelec SAS, then a French manufacturer, into international markets. The two businesses merged in 2013, and from February 2013 Steve was Managing Director of Acrelec International, with responsibility for operations, service and sales across the group. Acrelec grew to operate in seventeen European countries and expanded into the Middle East and the United States, serving clients including McDonald’s, KFC, Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Walmart and Carrefour. The group acquired HyperActive in 2016. Steve left in February 2018.
03

Theravada International and the QikServe sale

In October 2018 Steve was appointed Chairman of QikServe, the enterprise platform for guest self-service in hospitality. Working in partnership with an incoming chief executive, he oversaw the restructuring of the business and its sale to Access Hospitality in September 2024. He founded Theravada International in November 2018. The business provides its own digital solutions alongside selected third-party platforms for the quick service restaurant, hospitality and retail sectors, and supports technology companies, frequently from the United States, in reselling and servicing their products across Europe. It operates from Dublin, London and Madrid. He has also served on the board of advisors at QSR Automations and chairs Holidaymaker and Slide.

A career in retail and hospitality technology

Six stages, from corporate IT leadership to founding and chairing technology businesses.

McDonald's

IT Director

IT leadership across more than 3,500 restaurants in the United Kingdom and nine Northern European countries.

Stage 1

Jun 2002 — Feb 2007

Vision Direct

Systems Director

Centralised the manufacturing and glazing operation of a fast-growing optical chain, using systems to reduce cost across the estate.

Stage 2

Oct 2006 — Dec 2007

MDIS Services

Founder & Managing Director

Built a multinational IT business serving the quick service restaurant, retail and hospitality sectors across Europe and North Africa. Merged with Acrelec in 2013.

Stage 3

Dec 2007 — Dec 2013

Acrelec International

Founder & Managing Director

Led the international expansion of an in-store technology group from a principally French operation into seventeen European countries, the Middle East and the United States.

Stage 4

Feb 2013 — Feb 2018

QikServe

Chairman

Chaired a hospitality order and payment software business through restructuring to its sale to Access Hospitality.

Stage 5

Oct 2018 — Sept 2024

Theravada International

Founder & Chairman

Founded a specialist technology partner serving retail and hospitality brands across the United Kingdom and Europe.

Stage 6

Nov 2018 — Present

Mentoring the next generation

Since 2017 Steve has worked with founders of early-stage technology companies, principally those leading a business for the first time. The focus is governance, strategic oversight, international expansion and establishing the right company structure early, when it remains straightforward to do so.

Strategic Redirection
Establishing a revised direction for a business whose original strategy is no longer delivering. The work begins with an objective assessment of the existing model, market position and cost base, and concludes with a revised plan agreed between board and management. Steve has led this process as Managing Director of Acrelec International and as Chairman of QikServe.

What’s included

  • Assessment of the current business model, market position and cost base.
  • A revised strategy agreed between board and management.
  • A sequenced implementation plan with defined decision points.
Entering a new market is principally an operational undertaking rather than a commercial one. Steve has taken four companies from single-country operations into multiple international markets, and advises on market selection, entry model, in-country delivery capability and partner structure.

What’s included

  • Market selection and entry model: direct, partner or hybrid.
  • In-country delivery, support and supply chain design.
  • Partner identification, commercial structure and governance.
Stabilising a business under financial or operational pressure and establishing a credible route forward. Steve has worked alongside incoming chief executives to restructure the commercial model, rebuild performance and deliver a successful sale, most recently at QikServe, acquired by Access Hospitality in September 2024.

What’s included

  • Assessment of cash position, cost base and available runway.
  • Leadership review and, where required, chief executive transition.
  • A defined route to refinancing or sale.
Establishing the board structure, reporting framework and decision-making process that a growing company requires. Steve serves as chairman to founder-led businesses, providing oversight and accountability without displacing the executive team.

What’s included

  • Board composition, meeting cadence and reporting framework.
  • Defined decision rights between founders, board and investors.
  • Investor relations and preparation for future funding rounds.
Steve has mentored founders of early-stage technology companies since 2017, with a particular focus on those leading a business for the first time. The emphasis is on company structure, commercial discipline and preparing a business to withstand investor scrutiny.

What’s included

  • Regular one-to-one engagement with the founder or chief executive.
  • Guidance on company structure and organisational development.
  • Preparation for fundraising and board-level scrutiny.

Beyond work

Climate action

Steve served as a Climate Leader with The Climate Reality Project, the organisation founded by Al Gore, from August 2018 to September 2024.

Life in Madrid

Steve lives in Madrid. Away from work his interests are snowboarding, mountain biking and following his beloved Atlético Madrid.

Building a business that requires this kind of experience?

Steve would be glad to discuss strategy, international expansion or governance.
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