Our 2022 Conference Speakers
Peter Martin
CM & Co
Peter Martin is one of the most authoritative and influential communicators and community builders in the eating and drinking out sector.
Peter Martin is one of the most authoritative and influential communicators and community builders in the eating and drinking out sector, with 40 years’ experience as entrepreneur, media owner, columnist, editor, market analyst and board adviser.
He is co-founder of Peach 20/20, the international network for senior executives, entrepreneurs and influencers from the out-of-home food and drink market. The Peach programme of annual events includes the flagship Peach 20/20 conference and Hero & Icon awards in London, and Atlantic Club tours to North America and Europe.
Over the years, he has launched and run a raft of business magazines, newsletters and conferences and is probably best known - apart from Peach - as both co-founder and editor of the M&C Report newsletter, now renamed MCA. He remains a regular columnist and contributing editor.
He is co-creator of the Coffer Peach Business Tracker, the definitive hospitality industry sales barometer now owned and run by CGA, and the Retailers’ Retailer Awards, now part of William Reed.
He is a strategic advisor to a number of companies, including global data and insight provider CGA and Harri, the on-line people management platform based in New York and London.
More recently, with partner Christine Martin, he co-founded CM&Co, a specialist strategic consultancy for the events and hospitality sectors.
Peter is an inveterate networker and “allegedly” has the best contacts book in the UK market. He speaks and presents regularly at events in the UK, Europe and the US. He is a founder of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR), the trade organization for the UK pub, bar and casual dining sector, and now sits on the advisory council of UK Hospitality, the lead hospitality association formed by the amalgamation of ALMR and BHA.
He is a trustee of the Tim Bacon Foundation, the cancer charity created in memory of celebrated restaurant and bar entrepreneur Tim Bacon.
In 2016 he won the Special Achievement Award from Eat Out magazine, and in 2018 the Special Award at the Casual Dining Restaurant & Pub Awards.
Chris Brazier
Commercial Kitchen
Chris Brazier is our MC for the dinners at the ceda conference 2022 and is one of the well-known personalities in the industry today.
He and is team run Commercial Kitchen – the definitive event for kitchen innovations. He also runs the Casual Dining Awards and London Design Fair. Chris is passionate about the hospitality industry and connecting suppliers with operators and designers of all kinds.
Chris lives in East Sussex with his partner and their two kids. He enjoys growing food and watching Brighton & Hove Albion.
David Read
Chairman - Prestige Purchasing
David established supply chain consultancy Prestige Purchasing in 1998, since then it has become recognised as the thought leader on procurement and distribution within the Foodservice sector.
The company’s annual Food Inflation report has become an important part of the sector’s calendar, and is widely respected as the major source of insight into historic and future food market performance. David has spoken at World Travel Market, Food Ethics Council Business Forum, and several Propel and MCA Report events. Amongst many industry and media appearances, he has appeared on BBC Breakfast, and on BBC Radio 4’s You & Yours discussing food inflation, and the future of food and drink in the UK.
Sian Harrington
Co-founder - The People Space
Siân is a journalist of 30-years mostly covering HR, retail, hospitality and food/drink. In 2017 she co-founded The People Space, a digital content creator focused on the future of work.
Its purpose is to promote the value created by people in an age when humans increasingly work alongside machines. Siân is ex editor/publisher of HR magazine, board director at Mark Allen Group, NED at leadership institute Roffey Park and acting editor at The Grocer and Retail Week. She has also been a judge at The Publican Awards. Her mission is to make people leaders excited, positive and inspired by the changes taking place in work.
Presentation Synopsis:
Great Resignation, Great Reshuffle or Great Renegotiation – what’s really going on with today’s workforce?
Staff shortages are a huge challenge in hospitality. One in 10 roles is estimated to be vacant. But is the sector in a uniquely difficult situation? In this session Siân Harrington will share wider research and examine which worker trends are likely to stick and which are passing fads. Plus, learn what companies outside hospitality are doing to attract workers in these hard times.
Lorraine Copes
Founder of Be Inclusive Hospitality, Procurement Consultant and Life Coach
Lorraine is an award-winning social entrepreneur, hospitality consultant and coach.
Lorraine felt compelled to form Be Inclusive Hospitality CIC in 2020, due to the consistent lack of representation of people of colour in positions of influence, and the supply chain.
This social enterprise now holds the prime position of igniting the much-needed conversations, and delivering initiatives to advance change within hospitality, food, and drink sectors.
Kris Hall
Founder - The Burnt Chef Project
Kris Hall has been working in hospitality for over 12 years and started The Burnt Chef Project after an experience with mental illness.
It’s become his mission to eradicate mental health stigma whilst working with the hospitality community to create a sustainable, people focussed profession
Presentation Synopsis
A quick introduction to The Burnt Chef Project and a review of 2022 to-date.
Steve Hemsil
Sales Director for UK & Ireland for Welbilt UK
I have worked in the Catering Equipment industry for 25 years working in the distribution sector for Carfords and Lockharts before joining Enodis 18 years ago.
During their many takeovers and name changes I have worked my way up from Regional Sales Manager, Key Account roles to Sales Director for UK & Ireland for Welbilt UK since 2017.
Steve will be part of the Catering Insite Market Talk panel.
Iain Munro
Business Development Director (Hobart Cooking & Warewash)
10 years in hotels with various roles in Food & Beverage management, which included The Goring, London and Imperial Hotel, Torquay.
In 1988 I moved into equipment sales roles at Wholesale Catering Equipment, Gerard Gamble Ltd, Falcon Catering and Rational.
In 2000, I joined Scobie & Mcintosh Catering Equipment as Contract Development Manager and in 2007 part of the management buyout. In 2009, due to the impact of the ‘Banking Crisis’ it caused a change of ownership when I became the Managing Director of the newly formed ScoMac Catering Equipment.
In 2017, I joined Hobart Cooking Solutions as Managing Director and in 2019 when Warewash and Cooking merged was appointed Business Development Director, with responsibility for the National Account and Projects sales team.
I sat on the CEDA board from 2006, appointed vice chair in 2007 and Chair from 2011 to 2013. I am currently a FEA council member and until August this was the chair of the Cooking & Warming committee.
Iain will be part of the Catering Insite Market Talk panel.
Martin Vander Weyer
Business editor - The Spectator
Martin Vander Weyer is the weekly ‘Any Other Business’ columnist of The Spectator; he is also its long-serving business editor, having been awarded that title by the then editor, Boris Johnson, in 2005.
He is a 30-year contributor to the Daily Telegraph, for which he has written more than 1,000 obituaries. He is also an author, playwright, poet, actor, active citizen and charity trustee.
Martin has recently published The Good, the Bad and the Greedy: Why We’ve Lost Faith with Capitalism (Biteback, October 2021). For The Spectator, Martin leads an annual Economic Innovator of the Year Awards scheme for UK entrepreneurs.
He is a former deputy chair of governors of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and is currently a governor of Ampleforth College.
In his first career Martin spent 15 years as an investment banker with Schroders and Barclays. A Yorkshireman of Flemish ancestry, he is a graduate of Worcester College, Oxford, in politics, philosophy and economics and a recent Academic Visitor at St Antony’s College, Oxford.
Jonathan Knight
Managing Director - Leisure & Concessions - The Restaurant Group
Jonathan Knight has been the Managing Director of the Leisure & Concessions division, a part of the The Restaurant Group plc business since 2020.
With over 3 decades of senior executive experience across the UK and global retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, he is leading the revitalisation strategy and growth vision across the Leisure & Concessions business in the post-COVID era.
Before joining the Restaurant Group, Jonathan was the International MD and latterly the CEO for the Jamie Oliver Restaurant group, a role he held from 2016 until the untimely collapse of the business in 2019.
Jonathan, prior to returning to the UK in 2016 worked and lived in the Middle East & Africa region for six years, based in Dubai, UAE. The years spent working internationally gave him a deep understanding of the demographics and behaviors of International customers and partners, whilst acting as a Franchisor and Franchisee at different stages of his career. This experience has him helped build and understand the importance of strong business relations across all International and Domestic markets.
Before leaving the UK for the Middle East in 2010, Jonathan had held senior executive positions, both Operationally and Centrally, for Marks & Spencer and ASDA Walmart, thus giving him a uniquely broad range of experiences spanning both Domestic and International arenas.
Bob Gordon
Director - Zero Carbon Forum
Bob is Director of the Zero Carbon Forum, an industry collaboration supporting the hospitality sector to reach net zero.
Bob is Director of the Zero Carbon Forum, an industry collaboration supporting the hospitality sector to reach net zero, together at pace. He has worked in a range of sustainability positions for nearly 20 years, including roles in hospitality, retail, sustainable investment and agtech.
Nicol Dwyer
Midlands Food Scene Panel
Working all over the hospitality sector for 24 years, I started off in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham where my parents owned an operated a café.
We moved to Malaysia where my passion for street food really started. As I grew up, I worked in the best locations in Birmingham, like The Jam House and The Living room. I moved to London in my early twenties and pursued a career in independent restaurants. This is where my passion for street food was reignited. I worked for Street Feast and KERB. I also own and operate my own street food business with my sister. And once upon a time had lots of sauces across delis in London. I am now the Head Of Operations for Digbeth Dining Club. I was coming full circle home and having worked for the trilogy in Street food. I am delighted to be able to talk about Street Food and the moves we make!
Jabbar Khan
Midlands Food Scene Panel
Since opening Lasan in 2002, his first restaurant at the age of 25, Jabbar Khan has established himself as a hugely successful high-profile entrepreneur...
As well as a highly respected business commentator and hospitality industry campaigner.
Jabbar’s considerable achievements and contributions have been recognised and endorsed by the Institute of Directors, which presented him with its prestigious ‘Young Director of the Year’ award, and he’s often touted as a role model for young, aspiring professionals.
He was named as one of Britain’s best-performing young businesspeople, having been included in the Who’s Who of Britain’s Young Business Elite, and was also a finalist in the Young Restaurant Manager of the Year, Most Outstanding Young Business Person of the Year and Restaurant Personality of the Year competitions.
Jabbar has been selected as one of the region’s top entrepreneurs in the ‘Midlands Business Insider’ magazine’s latest ’42 Under 42′ list, and also scooped the Institute of Asian Business’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Most recently, he was included in the Birmingham Post’s Power 250 and also British Bangladeshi Power 100 in the UK.
Under Jabbar’s leadership, Lasan Group has enjoyed tremendous success and has grown to five distinct brands. Reflecting on his extraordinary journey, he has never forgotten that it was the great people around him that helped the group flourish, and his philosophy will always involve putting people at the centre of everything the organisation does.
Suzannah Nichol
Chief Executive - Build UK
Suzannah is the Chief Executive of Build UK, the leading representative organisation for the UK construction industry.
Inspired by a site visit during a week’s work experience, she achieved a degree in Construction Management before starting her career as a site engineer. She then qualified as a health and safety professional before taking over the reins at the National Specialist Contractors’ Council. After 13 years leading the specialist sector, Suzannah was the driving force behind the merger to form Build UK in 2016, bringing the industry together within one organisation. Under her leadership, Build UK is at the forefront of improving business performance, increasing productivity and recruiting, training and retaining talent across the industry.
By benchmarking payment terms Build UK has improved payment days across the sector and it introduced the Common Assessment Standard to improve the process of pre-qualification saving the industry up to £1 billion each year. Build UK played a significant role during Covid by publishing Site Operating Procedures which kept the industry open throughout every lockdown.
A passionate advocate for construction, Suzannah is recognised and respected for her work with government, media and key industry stakeholders. She was awarded an MBE in 2005, was one of the first Timewise Power Part-Timers, is a member of the Construction Leadership Council and the Women’s Business Council and is a non-executive director of CSCS Ltd and B&CE Holdings Ltd.
Matt Peck
Net Zero Forum Panel
CFO of Mowgli Street Food since 2017, joined the business when it had 3 restaurants and it has subsequently grown to 15 sites across the UK.
Previously worked in a variety of finance roles across hospitality and retail including time at Byron Hamburgers, GLH Hotels and Paperchase.
Nick Young
Net Zero Forum Panel
Nick is Director of Acquisitions and Estate Strategy at Mitchells and Butlers...
where he has spent over 30 years in a number of operational, strategic planning and property roles.
He also leads the resources element of M&B’s sustainability strategy, working on a wide range of property, energy, waste and water initiatives as part of the company’s target to achieve net zero by 2040.
Mo Romanowicz
Managing Director - Northern Catering Equipment.
Mo Romanowicz is the founder and Managing Director of Northern Catering Equipment. Mo has founded the company 5 years ago and been in the Catering industry for the last 8 years.
In addition to managing NCE, Mo also runs a Shop Fitting business.
Mo holds a BA in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Accounting and Financial Management from the University of Leeds
Mo believes that developing strong relationships is the foundation of everything, both professionally and personally.
Phillip Montgomery
Market performance insights & Business strategy
Phil works closely with suppliers, wholesalers and retailers in the GB and Ireland on trade markets, providing consumer and market performance insights to shape business strategy and maximise the opportunity in the channel.
Nick Archer
Managing Director - Archer Catering Systems Ltd
I have been in the catering industry since leaving the RAF in 1992, I think that equates to more or less 30 years. The majority of that time has been spent on the service / installation side.
I am currently the MD of Archer Catering Systems Ltd, we specialise in the installation of catering equipment for various design houses and manufacturers. I am just about to commence my tenure as the chairperson of the CEDA technical steering group and have been recently asked to join the CEDA board. I look forward to being able to continue with promoting the training of all engineers whatever their current status, but especially the younger generation, this is critical if we are going to move this industry in a forward direction.