EUROPEAN SUMMIT

Managing Director at THINK Hospitality & Co-Founder of Restaurant Marketer & Innovator. James has worked with more than fifty hospitality brands in ten countries as a senior executive & consultant, including Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group, IHG, Thai Leisure Group, Casual Dining Group, Radisson Hotels, Krispy Kreme, Greene King & Sodexo. He specialises in refining and defining brands, understanding the market, facilitating strategic development and maximising growth opportunities.

Rory Sutherland is the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, where he has worked since 1988. This attractively vague job title has allowed him to form a behavioural science practice within the agency dedicated to uncovering the hidden business and social possibilities which emerge when you apply creative minds to the latest thinking in psychology and behavioural science.  He is the author of three books: The Wiki Man, the best-selling Alchemy - The surprising Power of Ideas which don't make Sense, published in the UK and US in May 2019, and, co-written with his former colleague Pete Dyson, the newly released Transport For Humans on the behavioural science of transport.

Dan leads the behavioural science practice within Ogilvy Consulting London looking after clients from the public and private sectors. He is a Practitioner, Speaker and Writer on the creative application of behavioural science to the world's stickiest challenges. Joining the practice at its commencement in 2012, he has worked on over 80 of the world’s major brands & organisations. 

Charles is a Co-Founder, a fourth generation foodie, an expert in food futures and a ‘champion of change’. Cooking at his mother's side in the kitchen is where Charles' obsession for food began!

He and his business thefoodpeople are known for shifting the future of food and drink by harnessing the power of trends. Charles has spent the past 25 years in the food industry working across all sectors including food service, fine dining, hotels, food brands and food retailing.

thefoodpeople, established for over 15 years, are a global trends business, specialising in future foresight in the food and beverage sector. A united group of trend spotters and innovators, we’re a team of psychologists, chefs, marketeers, product developers, academics, flavourists, historians and anthropologists. But more than that TFP are ‘champions of change’ that bring their inherent experience, as well as an obsession for food and drink, natural curiosity, intuition and tenacity. This is underpinned by our vision ‘to shift the future of food and drink’. What drives us is our desire to shape a better future across society by harnessing the power of trends.

Katy is founder and MD of KAM. She is passionate about pubs, bars and restaurants and helping KAM’s clients understand their customers. Katy founded KAM Media in 2014 as she saw a gap in the market for a hospitality and grocery insight agency that puts creativity at its heart.

Katy is also a Bii Trustee, an advisor for both Pub Aid and Only a Pavement Away charities. She is also a judge of the Bii Licensee of the Year award & the Quality Food Awards and the Scottish food and Drink awards, as well as being proud to be a Plan B Mentor. Katy and KAM created Pedalling for Pubs, the annual hospitality initiative that raises money for the LTC and OAPA.

Following over a decade working exclusively within hospitality marketing, Sarah has influenced over 50 brands in her career to date.

Seeing a space for a creative, meat-free concept that was kind to the planet, Sarah co-founded Flat Earth Pizzas - an award-winning, planet-friendly pizza brand.

Flat Earth's first permanent location opened in April 2022, following 2 years on the East London pop up scene, and has been featured in the likes of Vogue’s round up of ‘World Class Pizzas’ as well as Evening Standard’s 'Top Eco-Eateries in London'.

Sarah continues to consult for select restaurants whilst influencing the success of Flat Earth Pizzas.

Laura Mimoun is an awarded marketer and food lover. She started her career working in marketing for nation’s favorite brands such as Cadbury and Pepsi. She founded Kaleido in 2018 with the ambition to shake up the salad market and make healthy playful. Kaleido Salad Rolls has now 6 stores and Laura’s main focus is to scale the business and roll out the concept fast.

Erik Nissen Johansen is the founder and creative director of global award-winning hospitality design studio Stylt in Gothenburg, Sweden.For more than 25 years, Stylt has combined concept development, interior architecture, design and branding to create unique hotel and restaurant experiences for clients all over the world.

Under Erik’s leadership, Stylt has won several awards, including, Global UNESCO Prix Versailles for best hotel interior, IH&P award for worlds best SPA design, 2 AHEAD awards, Best New Boutique Hotel in the World, European Hotel Design Awards, several Swedish Design Prizes, and the World Hotel Award.

So far the portfolio includes more than 400 restaurants and 250 hotels. Storytelling is Erik’s tool for bringing experiences and brands to life. Stories are always the red thread in creating the concepts, guiding every aspect of development, from brand positioning to setting of the table. This results in consistent, engaging and memorable design, which in turn creates consistent, engaging and memorable customer experiences. A Stylt story can leverage the guests themselves as marketers, creating word-of-mouth publicity. Furthermore, story-based concepts are well insulated against fluctuating fashions.

Steve has been at KellyDeli for a whirlwind 4 years in the role of CMO, following previous stints at TGI Fridays and Starbucks across 13 years in hospitality as well as some powerful FMCG brands before that in Heinz and Danone. Not any normal CMO, Steve prides himself on bringing together creative thinking, tech and product innovation to deliver results and to rightly establish Marketing as the driver of business growth. In his short time at KellyDeli – Steve has launched 2 new brand concepts, a DTC business model, and taken the business on a journey with Sushi Daily from a brand that no one knows, to a brand that has just invested in a heavyweight media campaign in Italy – and today he will share the journey to get there and why it matters.

Simon is the Category Director at Tao Group Hospitality, which operates more than 80 entertainment dining and nightlife venues in 20 markets across five continents, with a widely recognised collection of hospitality brands including Tao, Hakkasan and Yauatcha. Simon has global experience across a wide array of sectors ranging from consumer electronics, e-commerce, luxury retail and hospitality. In his role as Category Director, Simon’s primary responsibility is to enhance the food and beverage proposition across the brands in the Tao Group Hospitality portfolio by elevating the guest experience, optimising top line revenue and profitability through internal and external stakeholder management.

Jenny is the Brand Director of The Alchemist, the UK’s leading creative cocktail bar and restaurant business. Established in Manchester in 2010 and renowned for its highly theatrical drinks offer, the group now operates 21 venues in major cities around the UK. The business will open its first international location in Germany next year. Jenny looks after the brand’s identity and integrity; online, in venue and in the media, her role covers everything from venue design, to spirit partnerships. Jenny recently developed an ecommerce platform so the business could deliver its popular cocktails direct to people’s homes and was the driving force behind the successful Alchemist cocktail book.

As head of the product team for the now 50 strong Cornish Bakery, she's supporting rebranding and growth plans by innovating and elevating the offering. Dedicated to hospitality, Alice forged her career from the ground up through front of house, back of house, regional and strategic roles in hospitality businesses. As the holder of a Grand Dilpome with merits from Le Cordon Bleu, Alice adds cuisine and pastry skills to her WSET and leadership achievements, all underpinned by years of hands-on experience. 

Kateline has built a career in identifying new and changing food evolutions across the world and converting them into relevant ideas for consumers and diners.

Following a Food Science degree and time in professional kitchens, Kateline started in NPD for Sainsbury’s and KFC before immersing in the world of trends. Creating practical methodologies to identify changes in the world of food and drink she’s worked across sectors to bring ideas to life for retailers, global QSR, manufacturers and F&B brands.

At Egg Soldiers Kateline identifies what type of insight clients need in order to create food-forward successful businesses.

Liana was born and raised in Shepparton, Australia. After moving to Melbourne, she earned a Masters in Clinical Exercise Physiology and also rediscovered a love and passion for hospitality working for the Trink Tank company, most notably at Bar Americano where she was awarded Rookie of the Year in 2016 by Timeout Magazine.

In early 2017, she moved to New York City where she began working as a Bartender at Dante, eventually becoming Head Bartender and finally Bar Manager of both Dante and Dante West Village. Here she worked alongside the team as they were awarded Best Restaurant Bar in America 2017 and 2019 at Tales of the Cocktail as well as being awarded World's Best Bar in 2019 by the World's 50 Best.

In May 2021, Liana crossed the pond to fulfill her dream of living in London. She joined the opening team at NoMad London as bars director, overseeing the hotel’s beverage programs at the Atrium, Common Decency and Side Hustle.

Kurt has over 30 years' experience in the global hospitality industry and has spearheaded many pioneering concepts within the sector. Zdesar has an abundance of attributes and accolades including being European Director for a Michelin Star Japanese hot spot, consulting for Alan Yau for the launch of Hakassan, founding the global dining chain Ping Pong and Founder and Owner of the hugely successful Chotto Matte.

Martti started his career in the early 90s in the banking sector, shortly becoming the youngest Member of the Board and CFO in Estonia. However, his passions found a footing in hospitality when he founded his first restaurant-nightclub Spirit. He shortly figured out that the fastest way to lose all his savings and family was to invest in F&B without knowing anything about it. Now, 20 years later he considers himself really lucky with 8 restaurants and 5 kids. For the last ten years Martti has been the Head of Family at Siigur Restaurants and a proud partner with Tõnis Siigur – probably the best chef in his part of the world. The smallest restaurant in the portfolio, NOA Chef’s Hall - one of the best restaurants in the Nordics by White Guide also received its first Michelin Star in the Baltics in May 2022.

Originally from Estonia, Heleri has lived in seven countries and holds a Bachelor’s Degree from New York University in Economics and Business, as well as an executive MBA in Hospitality Administration from École Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) in Switzerland. After leading Puccini Group’s growth in EMEA for two years, she has partnered with Think Hospitality to deliver on F&B strategy projects helping brands and owners assess the market, find the right concept positioning and/or operator & chef for the properties. Her portfolio includes the likes of Accor, Hilton, Kempinski, EC4 Hotels, SuperCity Group and Marriott.

Aimee is the Marketing Manager of Searcys London, with restaurants and Champagne Bars at The Gherkin, Barbican, St Pancras International and Battersea Power Station. Previously, she was the Brand and Digital Marketing Manager for the Ball Brothers estate of Novus Leisure. She was also named to the 30 Under 30 Restaurant Marketer and Innovators list of 2019. In her current position, she oversees the brand's marketing calendar, including the introduction of Searcys Series; a curation of ticketed events and experiences. She is also responsible for increasing the number of pre-booked restaurant covers and ensuring a flawless online customer booking experience offered to guests.

Dan Burns is Natural Selection Design’s founder and managing director. Dan formed the agency after many years working as a designer, photographer and food stylist for industry press. Dan may be the head honcho, but you’ll just as likely see him setting up props and making tea, as you will directing filming and leading creative strategy.

Peggy Porschen is an award-winning cake artist and author based in London. She is the Creative Director and Founder of Peggy Porschen Cakes, which includes her globally recognised, fairy tale pink Parlour cafes.

A creative trendsetter, Peggy Porschen weaves magic through her eponymous cafes, changing both the Parlour’s aesthetic and the cake design to match every season. 

Over 600k people follow Peggy's creations and seasonal floral displays on Instagram, and her customers – including celebrities, VIPs and dignitaries – flock to her London Parlours, or order her cakes for special occasions. 

To this day, the Peggy Porschen mission is quite simply to create happiness through the global language of cake, where every stage of the customer experience is packed with pretty details.

David advises companies on their global growth strategy through retained and project positions, or Non-Executive appointments. That could be an emerging brand ready to go from entrepreneur start up to an international program, or a brand ready to export or import to the Middle East where he is based. David's experience in the F&B world has extended to wide ranging sectors from foodtech to private equity investment and wider consumer brands. He is considered an expert on matters of franchise development and globalisation, and after eight years in Dubai he is very well networked and understands the region considerably. Dubai is conveniently located for global business, be that in person or virtually David is a subject matter expert in F&B and hospitality with associated services such as food tech, franchise and licensing. He is a retained advisory board member to start up and established businesses alike. Through his network and global experience, he can support your Executive team to develop your growth strategy. You could be an entrepreneur planning your next phase to large enterprise or even globalise, or looking to enter the market with an exciting brand. We work with you to build and advise you on your strategy and execution David combines his work as a transformational coach to support leaders in the boardroom with challenge, and perspective to stimulate powerful ambition to deliver exceptional results.

Matt Snell is the Chief Executive Officer at Gusto Italian. Matt took over the running of the premium Italian casual dining group Gusto Italian in April 2018. Matt has previously held senior commercial and operational roles at Red’s True Barbecue and Fuller’s. Matt has overseen a stellar turnaround of Gusto Italian, particularly post-COVID. The premium casual dining restaurant group has seen happy customers flock back to its restaurants over the last 12 months, having transformed both the brand and the restaurants’ proposition. Notably, delivering a first-class guest experience and changing focus away from guest facing discounting towards customer loyalty through its Gusto Gold Rewards programme, which has resulted in customer feedback scores that have reached record levels with an average Net Promoter Score in the high 80s, compared to an industry average of 55. Gusto Italian was founded in 2005 by Jeremy Roberts and the late Tim Bacon, from Living Ventures Group, and in 2014, gained private equity backing from Palatine. Born in Cheshire, Gusto Italian has grown to 13 beautiful restaurants across the UK with almost 600 family members, many of whom have been with the company since day one. From city centres to typical English villages, Gusto Italian is all about making the most out of life: celebrating life’s little moments, making every day extraordinary, and making the everyday exquisite.

Joining TikTok in 2020, Hakim is the head of Apps & Software accounts at TikTok, where he supports brands such as Uber, JustEat & Deliveroo with their marketing campaigns on the platform. He is responsible for helping these food delivery marketplaces succeed on the platform. Prior to joining TikTok, Hakim was at Meta in their Global Business Group supporting brands with their marketing efforts on the platform. Outside of work, Hakim is an avid football, Tennis and F1 fan.

Joining TikTok in 2021, Ram heads up the restaurant & travel accounts, supporting brands across their respective industries with marketing campaigns on TikTok. In his role, Ram is responsible for helping some of the world's most iconic food and travel brands succeed on the platform. An avid ice hockey fan and reader, Ram originally hails from Canada before moving to the U.K in 2018. His British accent has not improved in that time.

Ann is a portfolio Non-Executive Director and Board Advisor specialising in the hospitality sector. She co-founded Plan B mentoring, sits on the UKH events committee, is an Arena board member, organises the annual Propel Women Leaders and Entrepreneurs conference and is a regular speaker and contributor at industry events. She is particularly passionate about advancing and supporting women in the sector, helping them to connect and network with each other for mutual benefit.

A self-confessed foodie with over 17 years experience working for global Food and Drink brands. Vineeta started her career in marketing in Australia - with The Coffee Club, a global hospitality brand. In her time there she helped grow the business from a national franchise with 300 sites to a global franchise spanning across 6 countries. Vineeta moved to London in 2014 and has worked in senior marketing roles for Costa Coffee & Odeon Cinemas. She is currently Head of Customer for Mindful Chef - the UK’s highest rated recipe box brand. She specialises customer insight, retention and marketing strategy and has led large integrated campaigns spanning Digital, ATL, BLT & TTL.

Alice ter Haar’s purpose is to ignite people's potential so they can become the best version of themselves. She sparks the life-changing idea that individuals can create greater career happiness, life fulfilment and give more back as they become more self-aware and self-empowered. Alice delivers this message as a keynote speaker and through her personal development consultancy, Badass Unicorn, where she transforms individuals and teams by inspiring them to invest in their personal growth.

She loves working with tech scale-ups, like Gousto, and industry-definers, like Ocado, alongside delivering partner and public programmes. She’s a keen social commentator, writing for the likes of People Management and HR Zone, and enjoys sharing her “warts ‘n’ all” story on social media. Prior to going full time on her business, Alice spent four years scaling one of Europe’s fastest growing start-ups, Deliveroo. She’s enjoyed a varied marketing career with stints including FTSE 100 Whitbread and starting up the business for ‘photographer to the stars’, Terry O’Neill CBE. Her personal development journey was inspired by her time on The Marketing Academy Scholarship, an experience that emboldened her to spread its magic as far as she can.

The winner of last year's RMI Future Marketing Leader of the Year award, Georgie is currently Senior Marketing Manager at Popeyes UK. Alongside working on rapid growth plans to launch Famous Louisiana Chicken around the UK, she’s passionate about career development and access to training opportunities, no matter where you work. Starting her career in the world of FMCG at Nestle, Georgie earned a place on the Graduate Scheme following a successful summer internship in 2013. She became involved in hospitality working for Nestle Professional. From here she joined Franco Manca, launching the new CRM system and loyalty app as well as the website, which was shortlisted for an RMI Award back in 2019! She then moved to Mildreds, working on rebranding the existing Mildreds business and launching a new plant-based concept ‘mallow’ before joining Popeyes. From KitKats to Chicken and everything in between… she’s now looking forward to launching some exciting plans for the 30 Under 30 community in 2023.

Mark is co-founder and MD of Fleet St Communications, an agency working with hospitality, leisure, retail, food and drink companies across the PR spectrum from landmark campaigns, brand building, product launches through to corporate comms, CEO / leadership messaging, storytelling, content, reputation and crisis management.  A former Sunday Times journalist, Mark leads a 20-strong team of consultants based in London and Birmingham, working with a range of clients including UKHospitality, Arc Inspirations, Asahi, Big Table Group, Diageo, Double Dutch, Hawthorn, Hildon, Nichols, Nightcap, Parkdean Resorts, Puttshack, StarStock, Treasury Wine Estates, Virgate and Zonal.

Victoria Page is founder of VP Comms and a member of the senior team at Fleet Street. As a sustainability and responsible business expert, she works to help leaders decide what to do next, supporting purpose-driven businesses on their journey.

She has worked with leading brand-led businesses including Accenture, Azzurri (Zizzi, Ask and Coco Di Mama), Bel Group, Mars, Pukka Herbs, Sky and Unilever. In addition, Victoria judges several industry awards including the Business Green Leaders Awards and The Grocer Gold Awards and speaks publicly on communicating and implementing purposeful business.

In 2019, Victoria founded Love Haslemere Hate Waste in her hometown to make waste free living the norm. The charity's Repair Cafe has kept more than 400 items out of landfill since it began in 2021.

Over the past 20 years, Mark has worked across sustainability and brand strategy, to help global companies define and deliver their purpose. Transforming sustainability performance to maximise commercial value, brand power and societal impact.

Through values-driven innovation, he’s helped develop solutions and campaigns, covering the circular economy, sustainable consumption, societal equality and digital safety for some of the worlds best-loved brands such as Apple, Nike, Starbucks, Unilever, Chanel, and IKEA.

Previously, he was Head of Sustainability Marketing and Propositions at O2 and Head of International Marketing and Communications for (RED), helping raise over $300m for the Global Fund to fight HIV and AIDS in Africa.

He is a contributing speaker at the Cambridge University Institute of Sustainable Leadership and Advisory Board member for the Zero Carbon Forum.

Recipient of the Marketing Society Excellence Award for Sustainability Marketing and Cause-related Marketing.

At weekends, you’ll find him running trails or chasing after his children. Sometimes at the same time.

David Chenery of Object Space Place is an interior architect and design consultant. Over the last four years, OSP has worked to understand the sustainability challenges facing the restaurant industry, and this now dominates their approach to design. They are currently embarking on a research project to create the design framework for a truly “Restorative Restaurant”, one that they define as ‘giving more than it takes’. The approach is being built around the principles of a circular economy; designing with the end of life in mind, building in rigorous flexibility, designing out waste and lowering embodied and operational carbon.

We talk about how he is fitting out an old supermarket at the moment and how the new owner has said there are to be no skips on-site during the new project—a tremendous change in mindset. We discuss the restorative restaurant and how brands can fit out venues with sustainability in mind.  Lastly, we discuss how fit-outs can be pulled apart to be reused or salvaged to make sure they are re-used, designing for flexibility and end of life.

Brett is an experienced property director, having spent the past 15 years working in the hospitality and retail sectors for the likes of Paperchase and Crew Clothing, following almost 10 years serving in the British Army. He joined Gail’s as Property Director in March 2018.

Kate Nicholls OBE has been CEO of UKHospitality, the powerful voice representing the broad hospitality sector, since its inception in 2018, having previously worked as CEO and Strategic Affairs Director of the ALMR.

Kate is Chair of the Tourism Alliance and co-Chair of the London Tourism Recovery Board, representing the needs of the wider tourism sector in discussions with Government and the Mayor of London. She sits on the Government’s Tourism, Hospitality and Food & Drink Sector Councils and has previously Chaired the London Night-time Commission. She is a Board member of Best Bar None, PASS and is a trustee at Hospitality Action. In July 2021, she was appointed as the first Government Disability Ambassador for hospitality, promoting inclusivity. Kate was appointed co-Chair of the London & Partners’ Tourism Advisory Group in November 2022, who have a critical role in turning London’s 2030 Tourism Vision into reality.

Kate initially worked as a researcher in the House of Commons and European Parliament on food, employment and environmental policy before joining Whitbread to work in Strategic Affairs. She has extensive experience as a political and strategic communications consultant and is a graduate of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and Kings College London.

Tim Doubleday, CFO of Burger King UK and Chairman of the Sustainability Committee, Hospitality Sector Council. Tim is part of the team that in 2017 acquired the master franchisee and development agreement for the UK from Burger King Europe. He worked with Bridgepoint Advisors on the funding of the transaction and the acquisition of the largest UK franchisee. Since then Tim has led the acquisition of 5 further franchisees and the business has grown to revenues of circa £200m. Prior to that he has over 20 years’ experience in the hospitality sector, operating at board level across a range of sectors including pubs, hotels, contract and concession catering and casual dining in companies such as Groupe Elior and Casual Dining Group. Tim has significant experience with private equity backed businesses including M&A and debt transactions. He
has a successful record of creating and implementing strategies and change, including growth through new site roll out and buy and build strategies.

Tim was Chairman of the Climate Action Leadership Team for Business in the Community for 3 years and now sits on the Global Goals leadership Team with a responsibility for environmental matters. He also sits on the Advisory Board of UK Hospitality and the Hospitality Sector Council, where he chairs the Sustainability Committee.

Mark is co-founder and MD of Fleet St Communications, an agency working with hospitality, leisure, retail, food and drink companies across the PR spectrum from landmark campaigns, brand building, product launches through to corporate comms, CEO / leadership messaging, storytelling, content, reputation and crisis management.  A former Sunday Times journalist, Mark leads a 20-strong team of consultants based in London and Birmingham, working with a range of clients including UKHospitality, Arc Inspirations, Asahi, Big Table Group, Diageo, Double Dutch, Hawthorn, Hildon, Nichols, Nightcap, Parkdean Resorts, Puttshack, StarStock, Treasury Wine Estates, Virgate and Zonal.

Before joining the brand famous for its spicy flame-grilled chicken, he was Managing Director at All About Food, an FMCG company specialising in bringing favourite restaurant brands into the retail sector and prior to that had extensive retail experience with Asda Walmart, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

Since joining Nando’s, Colin has concentrated on evolving an already successful business, with a particular focus on technology and bringing about new and innovate ways to bring PERi-PERi to an ever more environmentally and flexitarian conscious generation of consumers.

Colin sits on the Hospitality & Leisure Advisory Board for Pennies, a UK charity which works to protect and grow micro-donations by partnering with retailers and payment providers.  Colin is also a member of the Hospitality Sector Council, a collaboration between Government and the hospitality sector.

Sara McKennedy is Commercial Brand Director at Coco di Mama, the UK’s leading Italian to Go brand. Since joining the brand in 2018, she has overseen the brands growth strategy which started with expanding from 20 to 30 sites in Central London in 2019, and then since Covid expanding to 130+ nationwide delivery kitchen locations in 2021. The brand has been recognised with a collection of Great Taste awards, 2020 Multi-Site Restaurant of the year (QSR) and 2020 Best Sustainability Initiative (QSR). Sara has 12+ years experience in brand strategy across hospitality, FMCG, start-ups and social enterprise. She is an alumni of the Marketing Academy and Marketing Week Mini MBA.

Prior to joining Vita Mojo Nick spent 15 years working in restaurants and hospitality businesses, initially operationally and finally overseeing Sales & Marketing for Lexington Catering. Lexington’s acquisition by Elior Group was shortly followed by Elior’s investment in Vita Mojo, leading Nick to Vita Mojo as an early adopter and then joining the team over three years ago. Nick thrives on working within the hospitality sector, leading change and the much needed digital transformation of the industry.

Peter is CEO of Beaver Trison; a digital agency, whose team has been innovating in, and developing, the digital signage industry since 1998. IKEA, SSP, Whitbread, Odeon, Center Parcs, Showcase and GSK among many others are using digital solutions which Beaver Trison’s project experts, engineers and creative teams have designed, installed and support. Using custom applications, analytics and reporting, success is continuously measured against KPI’s with each project the team delivers.

Beaver Truison has a global footprint through Spanish parent company, TRISON, who have people and offices across Asia, Europe and the Americas. Peter has both a technical and creative background which informs the strategy and consultancy expertise he provides clients. He is excited by helping people navigate the project process and make the right technology and content choices, and crucially, also ensuring that relevance, frictionless customer experiences and a demonstrable value exchange is at the heart of what is delivered by the digital solution. 

With decades-long and first-hand experience in digital signage and broader digital technologies, Peter can design solutions which connect seemingly separate digital systems to create truly engaging experiences for customers which scale across broader roll-outs, and also return measurable value to the business, reducing risk and providing a platform to effect real, ongoing change.

Ellie Starr has been at Just Eat for 3.5 years and is responsible for leading the team who acquire branded restaurant groups, grocers and retailers onto the Just Eat platform. Restaurant and Grocery Acquisition for branded restaurant groups and retailers across the UK. Since her time at Just Eat, Ellie has seen how restaurants have had to adapt, and how delivery has been an integral part of many restaurants' journeys.

Nick started his career as a strategy consultant, advising on growth and M&A - and eating far too many meals at his desk. Despairing at the lack of flavour & excitement, Nick founded Yolk as the antidote to pre-packaged chains. After several years of testing and pop-ups, Yolk now serves 'fine fast food' from five London locations, with another four to follow this year.

Jodi is obsessive about data and passionate about change.  She is the Innovation Director for Venture Group Tenerife which operates 15 unique restaurants and a nightclub in the south of Tenerife with three more restaurants due to open by Q3 2023.  Since she started with the organisation in 2019, the original eight venues have grown to 16. Jodi started her career with Porsche and Aston Martin in the UK and uses the leadership and customer service skills she was taught there to lead change at Venture Group.  

With management experience in both Marketing and IT, Jodi’s primary responsibility when joining Venture Group was to establish several head office teams - IT, marketing, graphic design, and content – to support the restaurants and to deliver exceptional campaigns for each unique brand under the Venture Group umbrella.  

Since 2004, Venture Group has been setting the region’s standard for contemporary fine dining and has earned itself a reputation of being the most popular restaurant group in Tenerife.  Since she started with the organisation in 2019, the original eight venues have grown to 16.

Dan hasn't worked a day in his life. That's the saying when you do something you love, right?

A career spanning over 20 years in hospitality, first as an operator within hotels, before moving into hospitality tech where he has been for the last 7 years. 

His current role as Managing Director of Feed It Back allows him to work closely with some of the industry's best operators, helping them improve their customer experience, including Loungers, Oakman Group, Leon and many more. 

Vicky is the UK Marketing Director for global fried chicken giant Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen recently dubbed ‘Hype Monster’ by Eater 2022. Popeyes now has more than 3,800 restaurants globally, having first opened in New Orleans in 1972. The brand made its debut in London in November 2021, with ambitious plans to launch hundreds of restaurants across the UK. The first restaurant in Stratford is now the highest performing store in the world & at Popeyes openings in 2022 people queued for over 12 hours through the night to be one of the first to try the legendary chicken sandwich. Previously of Franco Manca & PizzaExpress Vicky has over 10 years of hospitality marketing experience after starting her career in FMCG at Heinz. She was also named in the 30 Under 30 Restaurant Marketer and Innovators list of 2018.

Kelly is Head of Marketing at Oakman Group, who operate 40 premium pubs and restaurants across the UK.  Originally based in the Home Counties, post lockdown the business has grown from 27 sites to 40 sites in under 18 months, with further openings in the pipeline this year.  Oakman have 3 brands; Oakman Inns, Seafood Pub Co and Beech House.  Each pub is individual with a strong community presence.  Their menus are prepared with fresh ingredients every day and quality is the name of their game! 

Their purpose – to create the perfect environment to enjoy great food and drink.    

Kelly has been in the hospitality game for most of her career [and it’s been a while] with a shift at Domino’s for 6 years in between. Understanding the customer and delivering great customer service, is her passion.

Andrea helps customers realize the full benefits of the Paytronix Customer Experience Platform by ensuring that every customer receives world-class service. She has her MBA from The Carroll School of Management at Boston College. When Andrea is not working on customer success, she can be found hiking the great outdoors, completing triathlons, and traveling with her husband.

Dan Brookman is the CEO of Airship.co.uk and useToggle.com, hospitality tech companies focused on customer engagement through CRM, data-driven loyalty and Hospitality Commerce. He has over 30 years of experience in hospitality, having started his career serving pints in Sheffield before buying and converting a derelict swimming pool into a 600 capacity live music venue aged 23.

Dan took over the reins at Airship in 2018 when the company was in distress. He
repositioned the business from a full service agency to a SaaS platform. In 2019 the business raised £500k of investment from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) to scale its products and build out the team.

When the pandemic hit, Dan made Toggle free for hospitality and built out tools to hel operators pivot. Airship then rolled out a track and trace solution which became the
prevalent platform in UK hospitality, checking in 1m a day across pubs, restaurants and
coffee shops. They raised a further £500K from NPIF and £250k worth of CBILS to
accelerate growth.

Airship & Toggle have grown by 600% in 3 years, and in October 2022 sold the business to Zonal, one of the leading hospitality technology companies in the UK. Dan remains as CEO of the business and is now on the exec board at Zonal.

Dan is a seasoned entrepreneur, mentor and trustee of the Archer Project, a homeless
charity and social enterprise in his home town of Sheffield.

Following a 10 year career in Hospitality Management, Adam has been delivering software solutions for hospitality since 2007. Working across a range of B2B and White Label platforms, Adam's specialisms are in SaaS tools for Front of House use, including PMS, POS and customer facing Ordering, Loyalty and Payments. Ask Adam about anything related to Hospitality Software, Gardening and Open World RPG's.

Managing Director at THINK Hospitality & Co-Founder of Restaurant Marketer & Innovator. James has worked with more than fifty hospitality brands in ten countries as a senior executive & consultant, including Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group, IHG, Thai Leisure Group, Casual Dining Group, Radisson Hotels, Krispy Kreme, Greene King & Sodexo. He specialises in refining and defining brands, understanding the market, facilitating strategic development and maximising growth opportunities.

James Brown is Managing Director at BrewDog Retail and Founder of Cashless Tipping Platform TiPJAR. Leading over 2300 staff globally James spends most of his time on the road travelling between BrewDog’s global location of Bars and Breweries.

Anthony joined Incipio Group in 2020 where in his role as Sales and Marketing Director he leads the group’s marketing strategy and creative direction for venues including Pergola, Lost in Brixton and The Prince. Prior to Incipio Anthony was Managing Director of hospitality strategy agency, Elliotts and has been responsible for launching and marketing some of London’s most popular bars and nightclubs including Mahiki, Steam & Rye and Tropicana Beach Club. Anthony was named Restaurant Marketer and Innovator’s Future Marketing Leader of The Year in 2018.

Laura joined Press Up Hospitality Group in September 2017 as Head of Marketing & PR, responsible for the marketing, communications, and branding of the 70+ venue portfolio of restaurants, hotels, bars, gyms, and luxury cinemas across Ireland. Having completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the Quinn School of Business at University College Dublin, Laura travelled to Australia working first as Marketing Manager at Taste Festivals Australia, overseeing the festivals in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, as well as the launch of Margaret River Gourmet Escape, before joining Sydney’s leading hospitality group Merivale as Brand Manager. Upon returning to Dublin in 2016, she joined the burgeoning hospitality group and built a team of marketing, design, and content professionals to deliver world class marketing campaigns for each brand in the growing Press Up portfolio. Having recently completing a diploma in Innovation, Creativity & Leadership at the UCD Innovation Academy, she is passionate about finding new ways to deliver experiences that go above and beyond customer expectations.

James has over 10 years of hospitality marketing experience going back to his first role working with Ann Elliott. Since then James has worked around the world including 2 and a half years in New Zealand as well as managing projects across Europe and the Middle East. Previously James spent 5 years at Ego Restaurants as their Head of Marketing as the estate grew from 12 to 25 sites and is currently the Sales & Marketing Director at East Coast Concepts who own and operate the Victors Restaurant brand and Neighbourhood brand, as well as providing marketing support to Richoux restaurant in Piccadilly.

Louise is a strategic and commercially focused Sales Director with over 25 years experience in Hospitality, including 10 years of selling tech solutions for 'best-of-breed' tech suppliers into multi-site hospitality operators in the UK & overseas. She has a genuine passion for the industry and the people who work in it and strongly believes in collaboration and people-powered growth. Louise's 'mantra' is success comes down to focus & effort, control the controllables and immerse yourself in what matters most!

Matt is a creative marketing professional with over 10 years experience in marketing the food & beverage sector, having started working with The Restaurant Group, then SSP UK, Crêpeaffaire and most recently Krispy Kreme UK & Ireland. Opening 50+ new locations across multiple brands including Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito, Ed's Diner and The Beer House as well as introducing new concepts to the market such as Garfunkel's Coffee House, Coast to Coast and Crepe & Roll with marketing spend spanning from shoestring to blockbuster budgets across different concepts. Recent launches have balanced bringing Joy to communities, with the sales halo effect of a successfully implemented launch and the current focus is expanding Krispy Kreme in the Irish market.

Alex has a decade of working within the hospitality industry under his belt and has built up his knowledge by working across many different areas of the sector including in bars, restaurants and cinemas as well as delivering public and corporate events. After becoming General Manager of Revolution Lincoln at the tender age of 21, Alex is now responsible for expanding the business development function of New World by nurturing corporate, industry, leisure and supplier relationships.

Emine Mehmet is the Head of Marketing at Inception Group, managing and implementing the digital marketing strategy of 14 venues, across seven unique brands. Emine has a strong passion for digital marketing and, in particular, creative multi-channel digital launch strategies. From sending cocktails into space to the depths of the sea there is no idea too big or wild for her. In the last year alone, she has successfully launched three new venues including the new Control Room B inside Battersea Power Station. She was previously a Local Marketing Manager for 22 Domino's Pizza sites across London and now manages a fast-growing digital team at Inception Group.

With over 10 years experience in marketing and branding, Siobhan has worked with a variety of different companies within the hospitality sector with a particular focus on digital development. Currently the Marketing Manager at 200 Degrees Coffee, a speciality coffee company with a strong presence across the Midlands and North of England. Siobhan is responsible for the brand development and strategic marketing of the whole estate comprising 18 coffee shops, 6 barista training schools, wholesale and e-commerce. Recent achievements include the successful launch of 3 new coffee shops in 2022, the redesign of the company’s packaging and the development of 200 Degrees’ coffee pods.

Following a decade of working for the UK’s leading agencies and in-house as Communications Director of a Japanese restaurant group, Clemmie launched end-to-end consumer communications firm Darby & Parrett in 2019. Since conception the team has grown to 20 strong, and services client's across branding, web development, PR, digital marketing and content creation.

Jessica founded, developed and launched successful student rewards app, Stunii, at the age of just 19, before graduating university and embarking on an eight-year career in marketing, five of which have been spent delivering innovative campaigns within the hospitality industry. Jessica is now responsible for optimising and managing all digital touchpoints for New World and its eight brands, including social media, email, influencer marketing, SMS e-commerce and out-of-home channels (to name a few!).

My career spans over a decade in hospitality marketing from Hospitality Marketing Manager at Fortnum & Mason, Group Pr and Marketing Director for a Michelin star restaurant group (including The Greenhouse, Umu and The Square). I now own Queens of Mayfair, regarded as one of London's best coffee shops and Alex Dilling at Hotel Cafe Royal - working with two Michelin star chef Alex Dilling (who I worked with previously at The Greenhouse). I still manage all pr : marketing and partnership for my businesses.

Creative Director for Hospitality Marketing & PR Agency Me:Mo & Freelance Marketing Consultant. Specialising in creative content and brand development, Rosie builds multi-channel communication strategies that help brands cut through the noise and reach their commercial objectives.As well as her role as Creative Director, Rosie has a roster of freelance clients across UK and previously worked in inhouse roles for Petersham Nurseries and Jamie Oliver Group. 

Working on iconic brands such as 34, Balthazar, Daphne’s, J Sheekey, Noema, Scott’s, Sexy Fish and now Bacchanalia. In the last year Caprice have opened Sexy Fish in Miami, Scott’s in Richmond and Bacchanalia on Berkeley Square in Mayfair.  Prior to joining Caprice Holdings I worked for eight years at Inception Group, working on brands such as Bunga Bunga, Cahoots and Mr Fogg’s. 

With over 13 years’ marketing experience, Juliette has worked with the Red Engine team for 7 years overseeing their marketing, PR and business development strategy. She has supported the growth of the business, into what are now internationally recognised brands with 13 UK sites, and 6 global sites for Flight Club and Electric Shuffle. Passionate about bringing moments of joy to people and how innovation within the industry can create market leading brands, Juliette specialises in developing marketing strategies and building teams to support this.

Vikki has worked in hospitality marketing for 23 years, starting with Wagamama in 1999 when they had only three restaurants. 58 openings and 3 marketing awards later, in 2007 she left to join a new restaurant, Giraffe, opened 30 restaurants and was the first restaurant group to join Twitter. In 2011 she left to run her own marketing consultancy for 10 years working with brands such as Vapiano, Sticks’n’Sushi, Ole and Steen and Pizza Union. By 2020 having worked as a consultant marketing director for Vapiano, for 8 years, she took the Vapiano Global Marketing role focusing on the branding and marketing for 35 countries and partners across the world.

Nicci is a brand and marketing specialist, with a track record of leading brands and teams though transformational change. Nicci joined Sodexo Live! in June 2022 and her current role focuses on shaping the marketing strategy, growing brand awareness and delivering pioneering campaigns that exceed guest expectations and drive business growth. Prior to joining Nicci has led marketing, creative and digital teams at Punch Pubs & Co, Emma Bridgewater and The Co-op.

With a wealth of experience in technology and hospitality sales, Olivia leads Zonal's sales and marketing functions. Prior to joining Zonal in 2021, Olivia ran her own consultancy business and held previous roles including MD of Majestic Wine Commercial and UK MD at Planday. Passionate about using tech to enhance customers' experiences, Olivia has broad expertise in developing and implementing commercial strategies within the hospitality sector.

Tori joined Chestnut in 2019, following 20 years in brand and marketing roles within fast paced, commercial environments. Her career has focused around the leisure sector; previously spearheading the marketing at The Jockey Club, East and leading large brand projects at Alton Towers Resort. Since joining Chestnut the business has grown exponentially, now with 16 boutique pubs with rooms in the East of England. Some of Tori’s key achievements include the successful launch of CBeebies Land, delivering record revenue and attendance numbers for The Guineas and July Festival; and more recently winning ‘Best Pub Brand Concept’ for Chestnut at the 2021 Publican Awards.

Co-founded Feng Sushi in 1999 and acted as the executive chef followed by managing director. Pionering home delivery, food e-commerce and sustainability. Since leaving in 2016 Silla was the MD for Genji UK, launched SushiDaily's first brick and mortar Grab and Go concept, headed up their NPD and recently been the R&D Director for German sushi operator Eat Happy. Silla w work as a consultant to the restaurant and sushi industry whilst running own business concept SushiSTØRE.

Sebastian “Seb” Lyall is an award winning hospitality and tech entrepreneur based in London.  His job is to understand and pre-empt possible shifts in culture and prepare his company and industry to influence and shape these upcoming trends.  He is experienced in organising teams and executing entertainment and hospitality ideas from inception all the way to delivery and managing ongoing operations.

Claire is Marketing & Commercial Director at Elior UK, one of the UK’s leading contract caterers across the Stadia, Concessions, Education, Healthcare and B&I sectors. She joined the team in 2021 as Director of Innovation, leading digital, NPD and concept innovation. Prior to this she spent 3 years at SSP UK as Head of Commercial, managing SSP’s owned brand portfolio, including Upper Crust and Pasty Shop. Graduating from Cambridge with a degree in Natural Sciences, she transitioned into the hospitality sector, as Brand Manager for Frankie & Benny’s at the Restaurant Group and Group Marketing Manager at ETM. Claire is the proud winner of a 2018 RMI 30 Under 30 Award and 2022 30 Under 30 Acorn Award.

Born in Singapore, spending her teens and 20s in Australia and now spending her time between the US, UK and Australia, Kim Teo was appointed Mr Yum CEO in 2018. Mr Yum is a web-based QR code ordering, payments and marketing platform that has revolutionised the way people order food and drinks at hospitality and entertainment venues and now has more than 17 million global users and more than 5000 venues using its products. A passionate advocate for women taking leadership roles in technology and business, bringing big ideas to life and creating a dynamic company culture is the energy that drives Kim and turns work into play. When not working on Mr Yum, you’ll find Kim watching Australian Rules Football, at the gym or visiting the latest Mr Yum hotspot.

Established December 6th 2018 by friends Aaron Wall and Ciaran Smith. Aaron with a background at the helm of award-winning bars and cocktail bars in Paris, Dublin and London, such as London Cocktail Club and Callooh Callay. Ciaran’s background in Five Star Hotels in Dublin, New York and London, Like The Waldorf Astoria and the Dorchester. The two bring their passion for hospitality great guest experience and great product together to deliver a bar that embodies what they are all about. A local bar with an international reach. Since opening, Homeboy Bar has been critically acclaimed and most importantly become a hub in their respected areas, Islington & Battersea.

Michael has a deep and extensive experience leading and improving businesses across Europe. Working hands-on with investors and management teams in the food and hospitality sectors on developing ambitious but achievable strategies, and then getting all the business elements right for executing the plans and achieving the goals.

After completing his MBA from Dartmouth College in the US, he spent a number of years with the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, as founder/CEO of technology firms in Scandinavia and the UK, and working with private equity firms across Europe.

He’s the chairman, director or advisor of a number of restaurants (from casual to Michelin starred), food, tech and communications companies in the UK, Scandinavia, the US & South America, giving him a unique perspectives on what works and what doesn't -and a deep respect for the unique qualities and challenges of each individual business.