Michael Caines – Chef and Restauranteur, MBE
'Michael Caines is one of Britain's most acclaimed chefs. AA Chef's Chef of the Year in 2007, and awarded an MBE in 2006 for services to the hospitality industry, Michael is an Operational Partner and Director of ABode Hotels and Michael Caines, in overall charge of all food and beverage operations throughout the fast-growing group. He is also Executive Chef at the two Michelin Stared Gidleigh Park. Since February 2009, he is also Executive Chef at The Bath Priory, Bath, Gidleigh Park's sister establishment.'
Jane Sunley – Managing Director, learnpurple
Following a successful career within hospitality management in hotels and contract catering, Jane spent a number of years as MD of a specialist recruitment company, which she co-founded. Having realised that if someone could help companies to become a great place to work, there wouldn’t be such a crisis over ‘the talent war’, in September 2001, she formed learnpurple.
In addition to running learnpurple and, since 2005, its sister company; talent toolbox, an award winning software business, Jane holds three non-executive directorships. She has been instrumental in the success of several high profile employment projects.
Jane is also President of HR in Hospitality, a fellow of the IoH, a member of The Talent Foundation, a trustee of Arena and a visiting fellow at both Oxford Brookes and Sheffield Hallam Universities. She is a frequent contributor to the press and is regularly invited to give speeches and media interviews on people issues. She is an experienced coach and mentor and also a popular conference chairman.
She is also very enthusiastic about helping others to grow and reach their potential – especially those in the early stages of their careers which is why she is an enthusiastic supporter of the Acorn Club. As a judge on the Acorn Scholarship panel, she is looking for potential, energy and creativity.
Hannah Horler – Managing Director, Cartwheel Recruitment Ltd
Hannah Horler is Managing Director of Cartwheel Management Recruitment. Cartwheel cover the UK and specialise in management level recruitment from Board level to unit level across all sectors of the Catering, Hospitality, Leisure and Facilities Management industries. Hannah set up Cartwheel in January 2007 having previously spent over 15 years in recruitment; 6 years in temporary recruitment in London and the latter 7 years as Director for Chess Partnership. During Hannah’s time with Chess Partnership she opened their Midlands, North West and Scotland offices and ran their business outside of London. Prior to recruitment Hannah has an operational background from within the Hotel industry. Following gaining an OND in Catering and Hospitality Management at Beverley College of Further Education, Hannah moved to London to complete a management development program with Forte Hotels, before joining Novotel as Food and Beverage Manager.
In 2001 Hannah won the Caterer & Hotelkeeper Magazine's Acorn Award and since then has been an active member in the Oak Club Committee, particularly with regard to the Acorn Scholarship, which Hannah was involved in launching in 2001. "The Acorn Scholarship was launched as a way of giving something back to the industry, as well as creating an opportunity to reward talent and develop an ambitious individual and their dream. I love being involved in the Scholarship, each year the competition gets tougher and it’s extremely rewarding to watch an individual develop in terms of network and confidence throughout their Scholarship winning year. The Scholarship truly creates opportunities for individuals with real drive, focus and dreams and is fast becoming an accolade every young and ambitious person within this industry wants on their CV!"
James Horler
James Horler, born in 1965, started his career at the age of 16 as a kitchen porter and waiter for Trusthouse Forte. He progressed to conference and banqueting manager and food and beverage manager before transferring to the group’s roadside business. Here, he quickly rose from unit manager to become Little Chef’s youngest regional director at the age of 24.
James moved to Granada to oversee nine motorway service areas with an annual turnover of £210m and 2,900 staff. From 1996, Horler was Managing Director at City Centre Restaurants (now The Restaurant Group) where he expanded its Frankie & Benny’s brand from three to 65 outlets over five years.
In September 2001 Horler bought La Tasca for £28.2m with backing from private equity firm Penta Capital. Early 2005 saw the group float for £54m on the Alternative Investment Market, with Penta retaining a 23% stake.
James left the tapas chain in June 2007 after completion of its purchase by Robert Tchenguiz’s investment vehicle R20 for £134m.
James was an Acorn Award winner in 1994 and a Catey Award winner for Group Restaurateur in 2004.
In March 2008, James acquired Ego Restaurants Limited along with LDC (Lloyds Development Capital) and is Executive Chairman. Ego currently has 9 restaurants in the Midlands and North West. Ego has recently undergone a full re-branding and specialises in serving modern fresh Mediterranean food in the affluent towns and suburbs in the Midlands and the North regions of the UK.
James is also Chairman of Cartwheel Recruitment Ltd, a management recruitment company based in Nottingham, and has recently invested in a mobile phone translation company called Calluma, which was launched in March 2008.
William Baxter – Deputy Chief Executive, BaxterStorey
William’s approach to business: “Passion is a must. Without passion it is impossible to remain focused, innovative and committed to your goals. With passion come the hunger to succeed and the drive to never give up.”
William Baxter has been one of the leading names and one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the catering industry for over two decades. Having started two multi-award winning businesses (Baxter & Platts and BaxterSmith) which were held in high regard by their industry contemporaries, William’s entrepreneurial spirit and passion for delivering the highest quality services have evidenced themselves as a proven formula for success.
At BaxterStorey, William uses these skills as he concentrates on developing the business’ marketing and communications activities. Using his wealth of experience William ensures that BaxterStorey is strongly positioned in the market it competes within, has a clear and individual proposition and is recognised for the excellence that distinguishes its operation. This focus has been a significant contributor towards BaxterStorey delivering a 60% increase in turnover since its creation at the end of 2004.
Prior to his current role, William was Chairman of the second company he founded, BaxterSmith. Founded in 2000 by William and Mike Smith, within four years or its inception, William successfully steered BaxterSmith to a highly respectable £28m and boasting clients including Selfridges, Powergen and Slaughter & May.
This success came hot on the heels of his achievement with his first venture, Baxter & Platts. Founded in 1987, it quickly became an established player in the business and industry catering market. In 1997 William sold Baxter and Platts to Granada Food Services and by the time he left his post of Chairman in 2000, Baxter and Platts had a £90m turnover and over 300 contracts. William began his career in hospitality with Sutcliffe Catering, rapidly rising to become its youngest ever area manager at 23 years of age.
One of life’s natural enthusiasts, William fills his leisure time with many pursuits and his hobbies include a wide variety of sporting activity. A strong family man, married with 4 children, most weekends find William horse riding with his daughter. Motorcycling (owns a Yamaha R6), running half marathons, golfing and yachting (owns 2 boats and holds a day skipper licence), feature regularly. He relaxes with Salmon and Trout fishing in Scotland and Wales. For 6 years William has been a trustee of The Scanner Appeal, High Wycombe and Stoke Mandeville Hospitals.
William holds a HND in Hotel and Catering Institutional Management and is a member of the HCIMA. In 2006, Caterer Magazine listed William as the 5th most influential person in the UK’s business and industry food service sector (worth £3.9bn). In 1997 William was awarded the Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine Food Service Caterer of the Year Award and in 2008 he was a finalist for the Entrepreneur of the Year (South East).
Sean Wheeler Group Director of People Development for Malmaison and Hotel du Vin
Sean has strong operational and human resource experience and I a well respected leader within Hospitality spanning over 30 years to date.
Sean has a proven track record for developing and putting in place HR strategies that nurture cultures, put in great people development practices and attract talent for the future. He has created an environment where people can grow from within and are rewarded for their successes.
Sean has moved from Malmaison & Hotel du Vin where he was Group Director of People Development and is now the Area Director of Human Resources for the Dorchester Collection UK - responsible for the People development strategy of over 1000 people for the world class 5 star deluxe Dorchester Hotel and two new properties Coworth Park in Ascot & 45 Park Lane opening in the autumn of 2010 & winter of 2011 respectively.
Christian Armstrong – People & Development Director, Guoman & Thistle Hotels
Christian is People & Development Director for Guoman & Thistle Hotels across the UK. Responsible for the HR function, Learning & Development and the development of Brand Service and Customer Feedback Standards, Christian oversees 37 UK sites with over 3500 employees.
Christian began his career with Trusthouse Forte as a graduate trainee, quickly progressing through various roles in food & beverage and rooms management. In 1999, Christian entered Human Resources with the Forte Posthouse group and has since gained experience in groups such as Intercontinental Hotels Group and Macdonald Hotels & Resorts. Christian joined Thistle in 2006 and during this time has gained extensive experience as part of the senior team responsible for rebranding and positioning of the refreshed Thistle brand and newly launched deluxe Guoman brand.
As an Acorn Scholarship Judge he is looking for someone with energy, edge, determination to succeed and a well thought out approach to how to get the best from the Scholarship opportunity. Christian is delighted to support the Acorn Scholarship and encourages all entrants to prepare and research thoroughly to get the best from what the Scholarship can offer.
Christian’s history includes-
- Acorn Award Winner
- Winner of “Excellence through People” at Hotel Excellence Awards 2009
- Member of People1st Council of Members
- Member of the Institute of Hospitality (IoH)
- Member of the Hotel Employers Group
- Part of the Editorial Advisory Board for “The Appointment”
Mark Lewis – Group Editor, Caterer Group
Mark Lewis is Group Editor of the Caterer Group, overseeing Caterer and Hotelkeeper, Caterersearch and the group’s portfolio of events. Prior to joining the Caterer Group, Mark worked on Computer Weekly, where he rose to the position of Deputy Editor. Before entering trade publishing, Mark wrote for travel guide book publishers, the Rough Guides, for whom he wrote guides to Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.
Nick Green - National Sales Manager, Hotel & Restaurant Division, Villeroy & Boch
Nick Green has been at Villeroy & Boch for over 18 years and brings a wealth of industry knowledge to the Hotel & Restaurant Division.
Starting out at Birmingham College of Food (now University College Birmingham), Nick knows the pressures and challenges facing young chefs, restaurateurs and hoteliers first hand. After graduating from catering college Nick spent eight years in hotel management with both Crest Hotels and Forte in Scunthorpe, Ashby, Birmingham and London. He then spent a further ten years within the luxury drinks sector working with brands such as Taittinger Champagne, Grahams Port and Martell Cognac amongst others.
In 1991 Nick joined Villeroy & Boch as Senior Account Manger responsible for London and the South and quickly progressed to Prestige Account Manager looking after Michelin and 5 star accounts. Nick achieved great success in this role and achieved success with Raymond Blanc, Gordon Ramsay and Michael Caines amongst others before taking the role of Business Development Manager.
Nick has been National Sales Manager for just over a year and is constantly striving to push the division forward and continue to support the industry stars of tomorrow.
Claire Sullivan - Marketing Director, Unilever Foodsolutions
Claire Sullivan’s passion for the industry is undisputed having spent her career in foodservice. After university she trained as an event caterer in London before moving to Aramark as a catering manger. Claire found her call in life when she joined Bestfoods in 1994, which merged with Unilever shortly after. As a long-standing employee of the company, Claire has held a number of senior positions managing and developing brand projects across Europe. In 2008 she moved back to the UK from the Netherlands, after being appointed as the new marketing director of Unilever Foodsolutions UK, Nordic and Ireland.
Claire has been involved with the Acorn Awards for many years, so is delighted to continue her support of nurturing young individuals within the industry. Claire comments: “The Acorn Scholarship is a great way to recognise young talent and to encourage the future leaders of the industry. I’m really looking forward to seeing the shortlist for the 2010 Scholarship, and I’m sure it’s going to be a difficult decision picking just one of many outstanding candidates.
