Famous for her flaky, buttery croissants Kate Reid of Lune wants to be Grand Prix CEO

Melbourne’s “croissant queen” Kate Reid believes she has the recipe for success to be the next Australian Grand Prix chief and is ready to put her career into top speed.

Melbourne's Lune Croissanterie owner Kate Reid was an Australian Formula 1 ambassador but has bigger ambitions. Picture: Bianca Tuckwell

Melbourne’s croissant queen Kate Reid has confirmed she will throw her hat into ring for the role of CEO of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.

Reid, who studied aerospace engineering and worked as an aerodynamic engineer for the Williams F1 team in London before launching her Lune croissant empire in 2012, had been rumoured to be interested in making a run for the position which will be vacated by current CEO Andrew Westacott in June.

“I am happy to confirm that it is absolutely true,” Reid said on Saturday of her plan to apply for the high profile role. She was an ambassador for the Grand Prix in 2022.

“I realise that I am a left-of-field wildcard, and probably not the first name that would come to people’s minds, but I have rare experience within the world of F1 and not just in a technical capacity, but also working in the sponsorship and hospitality side.

Kate Reid in her Armadale store. Picture: Julian Kingma

Kate Reid is known as Melbourne’s croissant queen. Picture: Julian Kingma

“Those two areas, while being completely different, are equally as important in the sport and I think it is important to acknowledge that.

“I built a business from one person to 180 which spans multiple states and stores.

“I have learnt first hand the importance of recruitment, onboarding, training and retention.

“I proudly run a company that celebrates equality, diversity and inclusion and I understand that having good staff is everything to the success of running a business or an event or a corporation.

“I strive for the highest performance both for myself and my team. I work with pride, positivity and respect for my colleagues.”

Reid said her strive for excellence was applicable to all business sectors.

“I think I have a lot to offer the role,” she said.

“Our mission statement at Lune is excellence in the everyday and delivering exceptional experiences and I don’t think that sentence is any less applicable to croissants as it is to an event like the Australian Grand Prix.

Pastry chef Kate Reid with one of her famed croissants. Picture: Sarah Matray

Reid worked as an aerodynamic engineer for the Williams F1 team in London before launching her Lune croissant empire in 2012.

“I also have extensive experience with media from the past 10 years at Lune and finally I am a fiercely proud Melburnian.

“I’d love to continue to build on the incredible work that Andrew and the team have done over the past 16 years.

“To see over the past couple of years, not just record breaking crowds but blowing the record out of the water crowds, it is an absolute testament to what his team have been able to do with him at the helm. I’d love to carry that on and I would love to get Melbourne back into that position of first race on the F1 calendar.”

Reid’s croissants have been lauded as the best in the world and queues of hungry, buttery pastry lovers regularly form outside her three Melbourne stores.

Global consultancy group Egon Zehnder is running the search for the new Australian GP CEO.

Names mooted as in contention include Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry boss Paul Guerra and former F1 race director Michael Masi.