ACE Robyns Alumni 2018

2018 Winner
James Pike
Green & Fortune
James Pike
Green & Fortune
For Green & Fortune, I oversee a number of buzzing cafés, bars and staff restaurants at our Sea Containers site on the South Bank, as well as Sea Containers Events which boasts six events spaces and a capacity of up to 600. It’s an iconic but modern building with stunning rooftop views across London, home to some of the greatest advertising agencies in the world.

I’m passionate about progressing in this fantastic and diverse industry, I have been fortunate enough to have been afforded some great professional opportunities and also enjoyed several amazing experiences. I received some great simple advice from my Grandad which I hope will continue to serve me well ‘whatever you are doing, do it well and good things will follow’.
Catrin Aherne
The Clink
Catrin Aherne
The Clink
I am the General Manager Trainer at the Clink Restaurant in Styal. Within this role, I manage a team of 15 prisoner learners, 2 chef trainers, a restaurant manager trainer and a chef.

I lead by example, ensuring my passion for the hospitality industry and training motivates my team to deliver a high standard of service and food quality, and more importantly, a consistently high standard of training and teaching for our learners.

My ambition for the future is to increase learner numbers by 50%, increase business hours to a 7 day operation and to build on industry relationships in order to provide our learners with more training and employment opportunities. I want to build on my current skills so that one day, I can aspire to be like my previous manager who gave me opportunities, motivation and taught me to progress in a short space of time.
Rebecca Armstrong
Genuine Dining Co.
Rebecca Armstrong
Genuine Dining Co.
I started at The Genuine Dining Co. in 2016 and have recently been promoted to Operations Manager from General Manager at L’Oréal’s head office. I now look after 7 sites across London and have recently completed the mobilisation of our newest site, Amadeus. Having the opportunity to see more of the business, take on new projects and work with great people is fantastic and I am really embracing my new role.

My ambition for the future is to continue my career within Contract Catering, working towards my dream of becoming an Operations Director.
David Booth
Restaurant Associates
David Booth
Restaurant Associates
My current role is National Account Manager for RB Health, Home Hygiene. I am responsible for all staff dining, hospitality and vending operations at seven sites in four locations across the UK, and have been in this role since January of this year.

In the future I have ambitions to continue to develop and progress, firstly into larger account management positions as I seek to round and perfect my skills. Ultimately following this I would like to move into a senior operations management position and help pass the knowledge I have gained onto developing managers.
Rob Burden
CH&Co.
Rob Burden
CH&Co.
As a Senior People Business Partner at CH&Co Group, I’m providing support and guidance to over 2,000 employees across London. The 120 different locations I look after support half the CH&Co Group Turnover. Locations vary from CH&Co Workplaces - delivering dining solutions within UK’s dynamic and vibrant corporate environments, CH&Co Destinations - day visitor catering at well-known tourist attractions and CH&Co Events - the UK's leading hospitality & event management in London, providing event management for unrivalled UK venues.

Looking to the future my ambition has, and continues to focus on reaching my goal of becoming a leading Human Resources figure within the industry.
Liam Hatcher
CH&Co.
Liam Hatcher
CH&Co.
As Senior Regional Trainer, one of my key responsibilities is to inspire the Hospitality Leaders of tomorrow. With a creative flair that enables me to create fun, engaging and current learning material that contributes to the golden thread of CH&Co, I am continually developing learning and development solutions for our team, through new business mobilisations, our FOH Academy and Leadership academy.

My ambition for the future is to become a People and Development Director, so I can add value and develop the people I represent, thanks to my operational and Learning and Development Experience.
Amelia Heminway
BaxterStorey
Amelia Heminway
BaxterStorey
I am currently the General Manager at Visa and I can quite confidently say that as jobs go this is up there with one of the most inspiring, exciting and fast moving in the industry. I run a fantastic team of 42 people who between them enable me to oversee the daily running of three restaurants, a coffee bar, a hospitality business and an events business. My long term goal is to run my own events business but for the near future it is to continue to work within London’s amazing fresh food scene, pushing the boundaries & redefining the norm.
Florence Macfarlane
Genuine Dining Co.
Florence Macfarlane
Genuine Dining Co.
As a young Finance Director in the hospitality industry, I am constantly learning and consider furthering myself is important. This is a vital aspect in any role and I try and instil this belief in the team that I manage.

My dream is to run my own company, inspiring the next generation through similar opportunities I was presented with.

In my role at Group Genuine, I manage a team of 10, all hungry to learn and develop their skills and careers. It’s important we provide the channels for them to do this and we strive to make it happen.
Marianne Philippou
BaxterStorey
Marianne Philippou
BaxterStorey
My job role is general manager at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. My role is very hands on; the building is open to students and the public. Together with the team we ensure that excellent food and customer service is delivered every day. I love my role, I am very passionate about food and love working with people.

My future ambition is to go onto operations management and continue to learn and grow with BaxterStorey. To help me reach my goal I am learning how to trade the BCU accounts at period end each month to help me develop my financial knowledge.
Hannah Robson
CH&Co.
Hannah Robson
CH&Co.
I lead and manage three event agencies as well as the sales process for 13 event venues within CH&Co Group. The agencies work with clients to deliver tailor made events and experiences, working across; venue finding, design, catering, guest management and team-building. My role is to create an environment in which all can be successful. I support and motivate the team to hit targets, manage the team’s growth and career progression. Overall P&L responsibility and strategically planning each brand’s development. I’m responsible for effective account management of our clients and business development activities to retain existing and secure new clients.
Adam Thomason
Restaurant Associates
Adam Thomason
Restaurant Associates
I am currently overseeing the Deloitte contract for Restaurant Associates and it’s pretty full on at the moment! We are mid-way through our new building mobilisation, catering for 14 different outlets throughout the site, whilst maintaining a seamless service for our 5 other buildings.

However, throughout the craziness of our business’s growth, my passion to develop my team continues to come first. Once you have a motivated, inspired and driven team the rest will work itself out!

As for the future I want to continue to find new ways to inspire my team whilst pushing food standards ever higher. The journey from supplier to kitchen to table has so many opportunities for creativity and excellence and my aim is to explore each one of these!
Ben Wilson
Genuine Dining Co.
Ben Wilson
Genuine Dining Co.
My role at The Genuine Dining Co. as an Operations Manager is to ensure our venues operate smoothly and effectively. I ensure we deliver our company values in nurturing, developing and leading our talented people, installing the confidence within them so they can thrive in their roles. I keep close relationships with my clients, ensuring we deliver a contract that meets their expectation on all levels, from getting the food offer right in their workplace and for their colleagues, to ensuring the concepts we deliver remain current and evolve regularly, and finally monitoring the nitty-gritty number crunching so our contracts remain sustainable.