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.

Claire Diemer is the qualitative market research Director at Food Service Vision. After more than 20 years in the market research area in retail and food service markets at Kantar & Stratégir, Claire has become an expert in Out Of Home consumer behaviors, as well as food service operators’ challenges in France and Europe at Food Service Vision. She is in charge of all qualitative market tests from concept testing to brand reviews for all customers: manufacturers, restaurant chains and wholesalers.

François Blouin is the founder and CEO of Food Service Vision. He has over 30 years of expertise in the Food and Beverage industry.

With a team of 25 consultants, Food Service Vision provides a sharp vision of the out of home market to key players via a unique range of consulting, research and data services.

Since 2004, François has led many growth strategy missions and in depth researches for industry leaders : manufacturers, restaurant chains, wholesalers, and private equity firms, both in France and Europe.

Recognized as an industry expert, he actively contributes to conferences and trade publications, offering updated insights on the constantly moving restaurant industry. 

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.

Lina Olea is Marketing Director for Wireless Social and specialises in digital brand building, customer acquisition, voice of customer and organisational transformation (ensuring operations align with a brand’s customer promises). A multilingual MBA graduate, Lina's passion is supporting startup founders with ambitious goals and budget constraints through creative, multi-channel storytelling.
Before Wireless Social, Lina served as Marketing Director for Yapster and before that founded Cafecito Ltd, a boutique advisory firm focused on enhancing brands across the customer lifecycle. Lina’s first role in the UK (after completing her MBA in Shanghai) involved designing and implementing an omnichannel engagement for the ALMR (now UK Hospitality)’s 700 corporate members.

Professor Charles Spence is a world-famous experimental psychologist with a specialization in neuroscience-inspired multisensory design. He has worked with many of the world’s largest companies across the globe since establishing the Crossmodal Research Laboratory (CRL) at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University in 1997. Prof. Spence has published over 1,100 academic articles and edited or authored, 16 books including, in 2014, the Prose prize-winning “The perfect meal”, and the international bestseller “Gastrophysics: The new science of eating” (2017; Penguin Viking) – winner of the 2019 Le Grand Prix de la Culture Gastronomique from Académie Internationale de la Gastronomie. His latest book Sensehacking was published in 2021.
Much of Prof. Spence’s work focuses on the design of enhanced multisensory food and drink experiences, through collaborations with chefs, baristas, mixologists, chocolatiers, perfumiers, and the food and beverage, and flavour and fragrance industries. Prof. Spence has worked extensively in the world of multisensory experiential wine and coffee and has also worked extensively on the question of how technology will transform our dining/drinking experiences in the future.

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 has worked in hospitality for over 20 years. He started washing pots at the age of 13 and has worked as a chef, front or house and as a manager before moving into marketing roles. James spent 2 years working with Ann Elliott before then heading to New Zealand where he spent 2.5 years living in Wellington as Head of Commercial & Marketing for the largest hospitality group in New Zealand, opening 12 venues in that time. After stupidly deciding to return from New Zealand nearly 7 and a half years ago now, James enjoyed a brief stint as Head of Insight at Airship before moving to Head of Marketing at Ego Restaurants where he oversaw the full re-brand of the business as well as their joint venture with Mitchels & Butlers. He opened another 12 sites in 3 years there before Covid hit and has now spent the last 2 plus years working as Sales & Marketing Director of East Coast Concepts who operate 2 brands with 6 sites. James is as fanatical about data as he is guest experience and equally happy analysing large sets of data as he is speaking with guests and team members on the floor.

Andreia has spent over 20 years in hospitality in both operational roles (Walt Disney World, Starwood Hotels, McDonald’s) and marketing roles (Jamie Oliver, Wagamama, Wasabi & The Restaurant Group PLC, Wingstop). With a keen interest in brand equity and digital marketing, she has now opened over 80 restaurants in her career globally. Andreia is passionate about growing brands using non-traditional marketing tactics with a “go big or go home” approach to campaigns.

Anthony founded the first incarnation of Yummy Collection in 2007 and has evolved the business over time adapting to an ever changing hospitality landscape. In October Anthony and the Yummy team launched Faber, their first full restaurant after many years honing skills in the pub trade. The team now plan to develop and grow their sustainable seafood restaurant concept giving equity to team members and focusing on an ethical offer they can all be proud of.

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.

Natalie started her career at Living Ventures, quickly rising to Head of Property and Design. Over 10 years she developed, maintained and oversaw the expansion of their ten brands. In November 2017 she founded Natalie Waldron Design Ltd specialising in hospitality and commercial projects. Using her passion for customer interaction within spaces and operational knowledge for design and function she has acquired a wide portfolio of clients across an array of sectors.

Matt Preisinger has been active in the hospitality industry for over 18 years.  He initially started with mixing drinks at some of the best cocktail bars in the world, and then went on to managing larger events, festivals and private events sales before specialising into marketing roles. Having spent 5 years at All Star Lanes and 7 years at Brewhouse & Kitchen, Matt is passionate about brand-building and has a strong track record of working in fast-paced and exciting founder-led businesses.

Jessica joined Bistrot Pierre in 2022 as Marketing Director leading the groups marketing, digital and loyalty strategy alongside operation systems and customer experience. Prior to Bistrot Pierre, Jessica was Head of Campaign and New Concept Marketing at Boparan Restaurant group leading the in-supermarket F&B offering, The Restaurant Hub and Caffe Carluccio’s. She was named in the 2019 30 Under 30 Restaurant Marketer and Innovators list.

Sam Bourke has had an extensive career in both marketing and hospitality and is currently Marketing Director at Fuller, Smith & Turner P.L.C., the premium pubs and hotels business. She is responsible for all elements of the marketing mix including local marketing and the complete digital customer journey. 

Prior to joining Fuller’s, Sam was Marketing Director at Wasabi, having held previous marketing roles at The Restaurant Group and ETM. Sam has a passion for wine – where she specialised in her early career – food and pubs,. Sam is also a non-executive director of industry-leading guest Wi-Fi and analytics provider, Wireless Social.

Sam is originally from the Republic of Ireland and has a BA in French and German from Cork University. She now lives in North London with her husband Tony and two sons. She is an avid Ireland rugby fan and enjoys travel, design and being active.

Sarah has been with the Rick Stein business for nearly 12 years, and part of the team that worked on growing the business outside of Cornwall, doubling the number of restaurants and considerably expanding their marketing reach.  More recently Sarah was part of the core team involved in the inception of Stein’s at Home, with over 150,000 boxes being delivered across the nation and the success being recognised from the Catey’s Marketing Campaign of the Year, and Restaurant Marketer & Innovator’s Best New Product Development.

She is a designated member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), a graduate of the University of Plymouth, and has professional accreditation from the Institute of Leadership & Management and London Business School. With a love for the industry, having worked in all areas of hospitality, as well as brand, Sarah’s role as part of the Executive Committee & Senior Leadership Team focuses on nurturing the strength of the brand, a customer centric approach to driving commercial performance and a values led culture.

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.

Pizza Pilgrims started life in 2011, after driving a three wheeled Piaggio Ape back from Italy on a 6 week “Pizza Pilgrimage” of discovery. Once home, we installed a Neapolitan pizza oven and sold our first pizza on Berwick St Market. Since then, we have traded at a huge variety of events across the country, and opened pizzerias in London and Oxford (so we can make pizza in the rain). We are only interested in making the best quality pizza possible - with handmade, 48 hr proved dough and ingredients shipped in from Naples. The pizza is accompanied by Italian wines & craft beers - as well as fussball, arcade machines and tunes you have not heard in a while.

Originally from New Zealand, Tortilla’s Marketing Director Megan Burton-Brown joined the fast-casual brand in 2017 and has fallen in love with the UK’s hospitality scene. With 85+ burrito and taco joints globally, Tortilla continues to grow with the help of an effective and down-to-earth marketing and digital strategy; from harnessing the power of brand and influencer collaborations, to maximising awareness through social media and reputation through Google and delivery.

Julius Wiesenhütter, a Berlin native deeply involved in the food delivery scene since 2015, founded getvoila in 2021 - drawing on his experience as Germany Managing Director at foodora, part of Delivery Hero SE and sold to Just Eat Takeaway.com in 2018.  Tired of the convenience-only focus in food delivery, getvoila, backed by Swedish EQT Ventures and German FoodLabs, leads the the way in enabling chefs & restaurants to deliver food nationwide as an experience and activate more revenue streams besides their own restaurant. The startup ships fresh restaurant boxes for special occasions as well as premium shockfrozen dishes nationwide to the customers. Getvoila's partners include a bunch of well renowned chefs already, beyond others the chefs from Disfrutar from Barcelona, currently ranked as 2nd best restaurant of the world. 

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. She is currently the Head of Marketing 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 21 coffee shops, 7 barista training schools, wholesale and e-commerce. Recent achievements include the successful launch of 3 new coffee shops in 2023, record-breaking sales through the company’s e-commerce platform and launch of a new sustainable packaging design.

Peter is UK CEO of TRISON, who provide full 360 digital solutions for global hospitality and leisure brands, incorporating expert consultancy, cutting-edge creative design, innovative hardware and software platforms, and robust technical services, driving digital brand and customer engagement in physical locations across the world. TRISON build long-term partnerships with clients, and invest their knowledge and expertise at every stage of the project process to create exciting and memorable experiences which drive measurable results you can hang your hat on.

Peter loves shaping the physical spaces people visit, using amazing digital experiences and he works with his team to always innovate; harnessing the incredible power of technology, data and fantastic content to provide brilliant moments for customers, along with meaningful insight, relevancy and proof of value for his clients.

Joe Cripps is representing Feed It Back as Interim Managing Director, focusing on enhancing customer feedback in the hospitality sector. Joe's career spans 18+ years in his chosen passion: hospitality tech, including founding TrailApp (exit to Access), where he successfully navigated the tech startup rollercoaster. Joe's experience also encompasses key technology roles at Itsu, Pret A Manger and Fourth. He actively mentors and invests in startups, providing valuable guidance and supporting business growth in the industry.

Jo is Marketing Director at Heartwood Collection and oversaw the Group’s exciting rebrand last year, from communications and branding to digital integration and guest experience.  Marketing will play a key role to drive awareness and excitement around Heartwood Inns and Brasserie Blanc as part of the Group’s ambitious growth plan to launch into pubs with rooms and grow to over 60 sites in the next 3 years.  Jo is particularly interested in using data to define a commercially sound marketing strategy and is a real fan of cheese soufflés, something that Heartwood Collection is famous for!

With over 15 years’ experience in international drinks and hospitality, Jo was previously Marketing Director at Shepherd Neame and has held senior international marketing and business development roles in Bacardi, Pernod Ricard and Edrington, as well as various NED positions including Visit Kent. Jo also holds an Executive MBA from London Business School.

Jo has a real passion for developing talent and is a qualified Executive Coach and previous mentor for Balance The Board’s Plan B initiative.

With over 15 years’ marketing experience, Juliette has worked at Red Engine for 8 years overseeing their marketing, PR and business development strategy. She has supported the growth of Flight Club and Electric Shuffle, into what are now internationally recognised brands with 15 UK sites, and 10 global sites for Flight Club and Electric Shuffle.

Vikki has worked in hospitality marketing for 24 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.

Laura Lewis is Marketing Director at Arc Inspirations, where she has worked for the last 4 years building the Manahatta, BOX and Banyan brands and driving them from strength to strength. During her time at Arc, Laura has focused on evolving the brands, ensuring they continue to remain relevant, driving a multi-channel comms strategy and moving towards a more data driven marketing approach via CRM. Prior to this Laura spent 12 years working in Supermarket Retail with stints at both Tesco and Morrisons where she built up a wealth of experience in national and local advertising and loyalty and data driven marketing.

Simon Potts is CEO of The Alchemist, the UK’s leading creative cocktail bar and restaurant brand which was established in Manchester in 2010. He has worked in the industry for over 20 years and joined the business in 2015 as part of a management buyout backed by Palatine Private Equity. The business operates 24 venues in the UK and Germany.

Growing up in the restaurant business, by her father’s side, Natasha Sideris cultivated a profound passion for hospitality that would become her life's calling. She opened the original tashas in South Africa in 2005 and is now the CEO and Founder of Tashas Group, a name synonymous with excellence in the hospitality industry. Under her leadership, the Group now boasts nine concepts under its umbrella with 34 locations in South Africa, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and has recently opened its first tashas in London.

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.

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.

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.

Paul is the Co-Founder and CEO of Trajectory, an insight and foresight consultancy. H has over 30 years experience advising clients on the strategic implications of social and economic change. Paul was previously CEO of the Future Foundation and a Director of The Henley Centre for Forecasting. His career has also included roles as Head of Research for BBC News and Director of Research for Which?/Consumers Association. At Trajectory his clients include Bacardi, BBC, Brown Forman, Greene King, Heineken, O2, Royal London, VisitEngland and Waitrose. Paul is a regular conference speaker and commentator. He has written for the FT and Harvard Business Review and presented BBC Radio 4's Four Thought.

Jenny believes passionately in the vital role that business needs to play in tackling the environmental and social challenges the world faces today.  She started at KFC UK& Ireland in 2008 and over the past 15 years she has played a critical role in both the evolution of the brand and the focus the business has on sustainability and social impact.

Jenny led KFC’s journey to improve chicken welfare, culminating in the business being ranked top of World Animal Protection's The Pecking Order report in 2021. She led the strategy for KFC to become the first in its sector to sign the Better Chicken Commitment in 2018, and the Red Tractor Agreement, and facilitated the introduction of KFC's annual Welfare Report.  At COP26, Jenny led KFC’s net-zero announcement, committing to becoming a circular zero waste business in food, packaging, and materials by 2035, as well as becoming a net zero carbon business by 2040.

She has been pivotal in kick-starting KFC’s global focus on social purpose, which in the UK saw the launch of KFC's ground-breaking youth employability programme – Hatch. The programme is a nationwide partnership between KFC and UK Youth that aims to help break cycles of disadvantage and unemployment for young people - developing career skills and confidence.

She believes that radical transparency and authenticity are essential to engage consumers and stakeholders today, a belief which has seen her have a transformational impact on KFC’s approach to consumer and stakeholder communications and marketing.

Specialising in corporate reputation and crisis and issues management, Ed provides senior strategic counsel to some of the UK’s leading hospitality businesses, including Parkdean Resorts, Chopstix, Big Table Group, Lucky Voice, Arc Inspirations and Nutritics.

Prior to joining Fleet Street, Ed spent a decade at freuds, heading up teams working on brands including KFC, Nike, Guinness and Ticketmaster, before leading comms activity for Under Armour at ENGINE Sport.

Ed’s commentary on reputational issues has been published in titles including PRWeek and The Grocer.

Mark is co-founder and CEO 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.

Based at Hilton’s MEA Regional Office in Dubai, Emma Banks is responsible for F&B strategy and development across EMEA, supporting Hilton’s trading and future pipeline of hotels.

Over the course of Emma’s career, she has seamlessly transitioned from independents to large global hospitality companies. She joined Hilton in 2019 with a mission to make the company the clear leader in food and drink. In but a short time she has made a big impact, bringing a wealth of exceptional F&B talent into the business while being actively involved in Hilton’s various diversity initiatives.

Emma recognizes the critical responsibility that F&B plays in protecting the planet and has been involved in several market-leading initiatives to reduce single-use plastics, track food waste and source ingredients locally, which was recognised at the launch of Gault & Millau in the UAE, when Emma was shortlisted as a finalist in the category of ‘Sustainability Champion Of The Year’, and most recently when she was declared the Gulfood Sustainability Professional of The Year 2023. 

Emma is also a role model to women in the industry, ranking #1 in Caterer Middle East’s “2020 Women in F&B” Power List. At the end of 2020 Emma was elected a Member of the Board of Governors and Member of the Board of the Academic Committee of Dubai College of Tourism (DCT) and in 2022, she was selected to be one of HSBC’s ’75 Faces of the UAE’. Most recently Emma was acknowledged with a Middle East Women Leader Award at the World Women Leadership Congress Awards Middle East, for her contribution to the promotion of empowerment and social change and she was included in the 2023 Top Women in Travel and Hospitality report by Women Leading Travel & Hospitality.

Emma holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Leeds University and lives in Dubai with her husband Jon, daughter Lily (when home from university) and a menagerie of rescue cats and dogs!

Clive has enjoyed a successful career in hospitality spanning over 30 years, including 17 years in the pub industry. Before taking on the leadership of Punch Pubs & Co, Clive held senior positions with Greene King Pub Partners and Brewing & Brands, Ei Group, Haagen-Dazs and SSP. Clive is passionate about the Great British pub, beer, and the people who make all of this come to life, taking active roles in Cask Marque and key industry initiatives. 
Clive joined Punch in June 2018 as CEO and has overseen a strategic transformation to create a progressive, forward-thinking Pub Co that operates with its people and pubs at the heart of everything it does.  
Navigating the pandemic and overseeing a successful sale of Punch from Patron and May Capital to Fortress Investment Group, one of the leading investment groups in the world, are amongst the team's groundbreaking achievements under Clive's leadership.
He lives in London with his wife and three children and is a keen runner, having completed several marathons raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Clive completed the New York Marathon in November last year (2023), having also joined colleagues from across the industry to cycle over 450km from the west to east coast of Sri Lanka, raising more than £400k for two fantastic charities – Only a Pavement Away and The Licensed Trade Charity.

Catherine Roe is Chief Executive of Elior UK, one of the country's largest foodservice operators, a position she has held since 2014. Catherine has an MA from Oxford University and a postgraduate qualification from Cambridge University. Catherine is proud to lead a UK board which comprises over two-thirds females, fostering a culture of inclusivity and equal opportunity throughout the organisation. She is a strong advocate for diversity in business and takes pleasure in coaching and mentoring women to help them thrive in the hospitality sector.
In addition to Catherine’s responsibilities at Elior, she has been an integral part of the operating board of the Women of the Year organisation since 2003, serving as Chair from 2018 to 2021, furthering her commitment to empowering women. She recently qualified as an executive coach, earning the Level 7 Certificate for Executive and Senior Level Coaches and Mentors.

Since leaving his career as a corporate lawyer in 1999, Downey has become a highly influential voice in hospitality - opening over 20 bars, clubs, restaurants and a hotel in London, Ibiza, Chamonix and Melbourne. In 2015 he was named by Debrett’s/Sunday Times as one of the 20 most influential Brits in food and drink and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Spirited Awards in New Orleans.

In 2012 Downey brought his drinks expertise to Street Feast, a street food night market founded in east London. Downey has since organised several events and street food arenas under the Street Feast brand (including Model Market, Dinerama, Hawker House, Giant Robot and Public) all over London; taking derelict and disused spaces and filling them with food, booze, music and vibes.

Fiona Richmond has been actively promoting and supporting quality food and drink production for more than 18 years, working with industry leadership organisation Scotland Food & Drink since 2009 managing various projects across food tourism, regional food development, foodservice and major events. Named one of the UK's top 20 icons of the industry by Speciality & Fine Food magazine 2019, she previously worked with the Slow Food movement, including a period in the international headquarters in Italy. She is currently Guest President of Les Dames D'Escoffier London, a branch of the international philanthropic association of leading women in the world of food, drink and hospitality, was named one of the Top 100 Women in Tourism and The Scottish Women’s Awards Best Professional in Business 2022.

Mikala Kofoed Rasmussen has worked with the restaurant industry on-off since 2008. From Meyers (Claus Meyer co-creater of noma) where she did events/masterclasses to promote the qualities of the Danish food culture and operates at all levels in the value chain from farm to table. And now at her position at Wonderful Copenhagen, working to promote and develop both business and leisure tourism. She works through several networks and development projects with restaurants across Copenhagen, have launched  a new gastro narrative for Copenhagen and a digital magazine “Craving Copenhagen” where the purpose is to shine a light on some of the many new and exciting things happening in the kitchens and restaurants across the capital.   

Her aim is always to work closely together with the big and small “players” to make sure that Copenhagen continues to have a worldclass gastronomy offer for the enjoyment of both local and international guests.

www.cravingcopenhagen.com

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.

Check out Rory's session at RMI 2023 HERE.

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.

Eljesa Saciri is truly making her mark in the industry. From winning Acorn’s 30 Under 30 Awards in 2023, to being recognized as one of the women paving the way in the hospitality sector. Having worked in the industry for almost 10 years, previously holding a number of roles at The Doyle Collection, Eljesa has a wealth of experience and knowledge of the hospitality sector and understands the grassroots of the industry. Now in her role as General Manager of The Zetter Townhouse Marylebone, Eljesa has been integral to the hotel achieving an annual turnover of £2.7 million, a high guest satisfaction with a 92% rating on GuestRevu and 4.5 stars consistently on Google Reviews. She has also led the project to completely revitalise the hotel’s cocktail bar, Seymour’s Parlour to become a sought-after destination, as well as ensuring that The Zetter Townhouse Marylebone is one of the premier hotels in central London.

As a restaurant and bar experience driver and emotion designer, Hilari has been developing F&B experiences for hotels around the world for the past 8 years. Her passion for the curious art of creating great spaces has led her to the UAE, joining Fairmont Hotels & Resorts to drive F&B experiences globally. With 90 hotels in operation and a healthy hotel opening pipeline, her time is split between researching what makes consumers tick and defining the tools to bring F&B to the forefront of the Fairmont portfolio.

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.

Sven studied Hospitality Management and Leadership in Maastricht, Barcelona and Berkely.  He succesfully developed ten hospitality concepts which are (partially) owned by him and the entire team of Younique Concepts. Four new outlets are in the pipeline, majority of the focus goes to the international expansion of the brand Pesca - which now holds two locations in the Netherlands (Rotterdam and Amsterdam) and will expand to Nice and Hamburg in 2024. Younique Concepts is phrased in the Netherlands for their revolutionary HR-model, innovative guest experiences and bold marketing approach. 

Rachel Persoon is the owner of Typhoon Hospitality, a marketing and PR agency specialising in the hospitality and spirits industry. With offices in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Antwerp, Typhoon Hospitality assists clients in enhancing their visibility and awareness across various platforms. This includes PR, social media, digital marketing and activating local communities, bartenders and other B2C consumers through activations and events.
The agency operates throughout the Benelux and Ibiza and is about to open its first office in Germany in 2024. Rachel Persoon is a passionate entrepreneur guiding a team of 20 international professionals. Over the years Rachel won several awards; from the RMI 30 under 30 in 2018 till the award for Best PR agency of The Netherlands by Fonk150 in 2023. These honours solidify Typhoon Hospitality’s standing as one of the premier PR and hospitality agencies in The Benelux.

Tom Patrick, Marketing Director and Exec member for Banana Tree Restaurants, part of The Big Table Group. With a background in Late Night, QSR, Premium and Casual Dining, Tom is passionate about all things Hospitality. Tom has a real interest in how data can drive bums on seats and has a background in brand transformations and roll outs, having worked with some of the biggest hospitality brands on the high street.

Libby Andrews is an award-winning marketer with significant experience across the US and UK food and drink industries. She has worked on leading-sector campaigns for a broad mix of well-known operators and organisations, including the likes of Turtle Bay, Jamie Oliver, Sweet Chick, The Julia Child Foundation, and Hearst Magazines. She is currently marketing director of Pho, where she heads up all brand communications for the fast-growing, national Vietnamese restaurant group.

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.

Tom is Marketing Director for BOXPARK, the street food, bar and events business with three sites in London and soon to be expanding across the UK. He started his career in advertising, working on a heady mix of clients and projects from Cheestrings to 20th Century Fox via spells in big pharma, travel and finance. He then moved out of the agency world to pursue a career in golf - marketing, rather than playing - as Marketing & Consumer Director for the European Tour and Ryder Cup. During a decade in the sport, he was responsible for transforming the key revenue streams of ticketing, hospitality and merchandise into increasingly lucrative channels for the business. Now at BOXPARK, he leads the team overseeing brand, content, digital engagement and PR as the business enters into an exciting period of growth.

Sheri is the Marketing Director for Bill’s restaurants with 45 sites in the UK, leading a team across creative & branding, digital, social. PR and CRM. She has spent nearly 10 years in marketing working predominantly in retail at M&S Clothing & Home for 7 years working on everything from their Christmas TV Ads, Bra Fit Campaigns, charity initiatives, to managing key high-profile talent such as Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Holly Willoughby on seasonal campaigns. She brings with her a different perspective into the world of hospitality marketing, having taking Bill’s on a journey including their re-brand last year and she’s excited to see what 2024 will bring for the brand.

Andre boasts a rich history in the hospitality sector, working on renowned brands and building successful marketing teams. With an illustrious 15-year tenure at Mitchells and Butlers, he helped to grow brands like All Bar One, Nicholson's, Castle, and O'Neill's.

His journey continued with Wagamama, where transformed their digital and loyalty before assuming the role of Marketing Director, winning multiple brand and advertising awards. Subsequently, Andre took on the challenge of overseeing Wagamama's delivery arm and managing several innovation projects.

For the past three years, Andre worked as Chief Growth Officer at Côte, focusing on marketing and strategy while also guiding the Côte at Home meal kit business. Now, in his new role as Sales and Marketing Director at Urban Pubs and Bars, Andre brings his wealth of experience back to the world of pubs.

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 help 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. He's an investor and NED in Joli, the creator platform and El Tab, the drinks subscription app.

Ben Webb is Managing Director at 3Stories, a design agency based in London specialising in Brand, Interior design & F&B consultancy. Over the past 17 years he has focused his works within the hospitality sector designing for hotel groups such as IHG, Hilton and Accor as well as restaurant concepts including Roast, The Brixton Laundry and Ping Pong. In 2017 Ben founded 3Stories with business partner Jordan Littler aimed at developing new and exciting concepts within the hospitality and entertainment sector. Ben believes great design is achieved by creating a unique guest experience delivered through intelligent insight and a strong storytelling.

Joel is the Digital & Technology Director for the Azzurri Group, who operate Zizzi, ASK Italian, Coco di Mama & Boojum across the UK & Republic of Ireland. Joel is responsible for Digital, CRM & IT strategy and delivery across the group. Outside of work Joel is a keen singer, an amateur barbecue enthusiast and a long suffering fan of Spurs.

Maya Orr is an award-winning marketing and communications professional who is known for her work across the #LidlSurprises brand campaign. This 2014 campaign transformed Lidl’s discounter reputation and subsequently has seen the supermarket’s market share double.
Maya began her career in broadcast PR in 2010. Since then, she has worked with several brands across all sectors, both client and agency side, and has been integral in a number of areas of marketing and communications including strategy, event planning, branding, as well as overseeing some of the most memorable above-the-line campaigns including a work for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
At the height of the Pandemic, Maya joined the LADbible Group as Director of Marketing and Communications to oversee all the Marketing, Communications, Design and Licensing across the publisher's portfolio of brands, which include LADbible, SPORTbible, UNILAD, GAMINGbible and Tyla.
Most recently, Maya joined Connect Management as MD, working alongside founder and CEO, Benjy Leslie, in this newly created position. Maya sits on the Board and is responsible for several key areas within the business including all creative, reputation management, strategy, through-the-line marketing as well as expansion for the group.
Aside from Maya’s day job, she holds a WSET accreditation and is a food and drinks judge in many esteemed competitions including the Great Taste Awards and the International Spirits Challenge.

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.

Lynsey started with Iam Doner in 2021 as Brand & Franchise Manager; she came from a multi-brand operator where she headed up the marketing for 20 stores. With a creative and forward thinking mindset she drives the brand and franchise projects in the UK and internationally, taking the business to the next level.

Michael Radley is the Co-Founder of Joli, the influencer marketing platform for hospitality. Michael's background in hospitality technology coupled with his micro-influencer side hustle in the industry led him on to launching the first end-to-end influencer management tool, designed specifically for hospitality & leisure brands. 

Joli, formerly Nibble, works with over 80 hospitality businesses up and down the UK. The app vets and curates micro and nano influencers based on reach, following, location, audience demographics, content style, category and even dietary requirements. Then matches and connects the right influencers for hospitality businesses based on their specific requirements. The platform streamlines, and now fully automates, the booking management process which notoriously has involved lots of influencer outreach, admin and back and forth communications when arranging collaborations. Joli is designed to remove all of this and save brands time and money. Joli's dashboard also tracks and stores all influencer-generated content and measures the impact so brands can monitor the success influencer marketing is having on the business.

Myles is a senior executive with 30 years’ experience in the FMCG, leisure and hospitality sectors, with a proven track record in building to scale both privately owned and PLC businesses for both exit and long-term growth. His career has spanned multi-channel sales, commercial partnerships & agreements, route to market, product creativity, marketing, operations, and procurement with a successful footprint of building brands and profitability throughout the UK.
He has successfully exited two previous businesses and supported a business through an IPO process to list on the market in London on material upside muliples.
He has worked with many of the leading hospitality operators in the UK and has a superb network of industry connections and relationships at C-suite level within the hospitality and drinks brands markets in both Europe and the US.
He has achieved significant successes in creating and growing sector operator brands in reach and value, exploiting emerging consumer trends, leveraging commercial initiatives to drive growth and profitability whilst maintaining an unwavering focus on guest experience.
He has and continues to work with the largest drinks brands in the world, including celebrity founder led brands and disruptive start-ups, to develop their reach and relevance whilst sharing learnings for continuous improvement, including launching new brands and growing distribution by way of sales representation and advisory support through creative collaborations, drinks program activations and consumer positioning.
 

Aaron, the co-founder of Ambl, launched the app in January 2023 with the mission to revolutionise how customers discover venues. Focused on addressing last-minute cancellations, Ambl empowers users to broadcast their needs to nearby venues, fostering a dynamic system where venues can respond, driving incremental bookings.

In 2022, Aaron took the bold step of leaving his job, securing funding to develop the app. Since then, he and his dedicated team have been actively engaging with London venues, building partnerships, and cultivating a robust database. Currently collaborating with approximately 350 venues in London, Ambl has successfully built a customer base of 38,000 in the city.

Entering its second year of operation, Ambl proudly sponsors the RMI, showcasing significant advancements in technology to channel more customers towards exceptional venues. Aaron's journey reflects a commitment to innovation and a passion for transforming the hospitality landscape.

Sarah has been making waves in the hospitality industry for over 10 years working at UK groups such as Novus Leisure, Young’s Pubs and of course, BrewDog. As Director of Global Retail Marketing, Sarah leads marketing strategy for all 100+ bars & hotels across the World; from big brand partnerships to strategic sales-driving initiatives and openings of award-winning icon sites, BrewDog Las Vegas and Waterloo. She keeps digital strategy and pre-booked revenue at the forefront of all campaigns, ensuring customer experience or local site buy-in is never compromised at the expense of conversion.  Her passion for the industry has led to an expert understanding of all things hospitality from the ground up.

Hannah Clark has over 15 years of experience working across FMCG businesses and hospitality. Hannah began her marketing career in PR before moving to social media and, during the Covid years, learning digital marketing. Having worked predominantly in marketing agencies, Hannah moved to in-house to Sticks’n’Sushi in the summer of 2023 as UK Head of Marketing.

Marketing Director and Executive member for Bella Italia, part of The Big Table Group. Named on the '30 under 30’ list, and shortlisted for Future Marketer of the Year by Restaurant Marketer & Innovator 2022.

Mark McCulloch, one of the leading Food, Drink & Hospitality brand & marketing minds in the world. An extension of the tigerbond family, having worked together on many projects over the last few years notably Buzzworks Holdings and the industry recruitment campaign, Hospitality Rising. A fellow Scot (Kilwinning, Ayrshire), Mark has over 20 years Brand, Marketing, Digital and Social Media experience holding senior and board level positions at at lastminute.com, Barclaycard, YO! Sushi and Pret A Manger. His experience also includes Dishoom, BrewDog, Costa, Roadchef, Nestle, Red Carnation Hotels, Ibis, Brighton Fringe, Bill’s, Rosa’s Thai, Holiday Extras, Buzzworks, Fourth, Vanarama, SSP. Mark now lives and works by the sea in Brighton, England but has clients all over the world. 

After leaving Pret in 2013, Mark co-founded multi-award winning Brand & Marketing agency WE ARE Spectacular in 2012 which is still going strong today but now works solo as a consultant, NED and advisor to Premium brands in hospitality, tech and B2B with his consultancy Supersonic Inc. 

Mark is also a popular thought leader, speaker and broadcaster, the highlight of which being in 2018 when Mark began podcasting and his hugely successful Mark McC Supersonic Hospitality Marketing Podcast. Mark’s podcast has been downloaded over 100,000 times and has reached the top 10 in the UK iTunes business charts and is a regular Top 100 podcast in multiple countries around the world helping educate, entertain and inspire both the marketing and business community.

Mark is also the Campaign Director for Hospitality Rising which is an Army Be The Best style campaign but for hospitality to help solve the hospitality recruitment crisis forever. He was acknowledged for his tireless work to improve the perception of working in hospitality by receiving the Casual Dining Awards Special Award which is only the third time this has even been awarded.

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.