Just Falafel has announced that its inaugural CEO Fadi Malas is leaving the firm to "pursue new business incubation opportunities in the SME sector". Founding partner and managing director Mohammed Bitar will manage Just Falafel’s day-to-day operations. A Just Falafel representative revealed to Caterer that Malas will remain a major shareholder of the company, and that the parting was completely amicable, with Malas wanting to follow his passion for the SME sector. When Caterer last spoke to Malas he said he is a big supporter of people in start-ups, and had even helped crowd-fund an Arabic content website Ekeif.com through crowdsourcing website Eureka. In his interview with Caterer, he revealed: "I think going forward I would like to invest more and more in start-ups; young entrepreneurs who are not scared to go out and try to excel and do new things. And I think now is the time... in two or three years when all the scepticism is gone and everyone wants to do the same, it will be too late for people to make money. So now is the best time for people to invest in start-ups in the region." Malas further said that he is excited by "younger brands that are single-store who are very entrepreneurial, very dynamic, because there are a lot of people who have done very well for themselves at a regional level and are within their comfort zone and are not willing to take up that risk." “In less than a decade, Just Falafel has become one of the Middle East’s most recognised brands, and we thank Fadi for his tremendous contribution to building the strong foundation of our business," said Bitar. He continued: "Going forward, we will draw on Just Falafel’s greatest resources – the expertise and enthusiasm of our colleagues as well as the commitment of our regional and international franchise partners – to continue the momentum and growth trajectory of Just Falafel in the Middle East as well as the US, Europe and Asia." “Our immediate priorities including the streamlining of our operations to optimise resources and efficiency, while concentrating on Just Falafel’s fundamentals of high quality, nutritious street food and excellent service in ideal locations for our growing customer base,” Bitar concluded. In his expanded role, Bitar will maintain the company’s service standards and fulfill current growth objectives alongside Just Falafel chief operating officer Mike Biggins, who is managing the company’s evolution of its menu and broad new restaurant roll-out programme.