Hospitality Mavericks Podcast Show

Lorraine Copes has a far and wide background in procurement and diversity and inclusion. She’s the Founder of Be ​​Inclusive Hospitality – a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to accelerate racial equality in the Hospitality sector – and a Procurement Consultant. I’ve had Lorraine on previously on the Hospitality and the Infinite Game series discuss the role of diversity and inclusion, so...

Josh Sharkey is the founder and CEO of meez, the recipe tool for professional chefs. With over 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry, Josh launched the culinary technology company in 2020 to provide chefs the home for all their recipes, menus, and ideas. The interactive database helps users ideate, organise, search, collaborate, share, and ultimately execute their vision.   J...

Today we’re joined with the Founder of The Pioneers, Matt Grimshaw. The Pioneers are a team of culture engineers who help scale-ups to design and build the People Operating System they need to drive rapid and sustainable growth. It was great having Matt on the show to discuss how your company culture is a source of competitive advantage. We explore how to avoid burnout when scaling, meta cultures,...

Hourly makes hiring easier for everybody by turning the hiring process – from explore-to-offer – into a single mobile conversation that removes the dependency on legacy processes that can slow hiring. Today I’m joined by Hourly’s VP of Product Sales Alexandra Berger to learn more about how to best optimise the hiring process. In this discussion we explore what makes a good recruiting process, the...

It was a great pleasure for Michael to connect with an old colleague of his from McDonald’s to talk about digital transformation and how we as leaders can make it happen more effectively. In this conversation, Phil Le-Brun Enterprise Strategist at Amazon Web Services and the former international CIO at McDonald's shares how hospitality businesses now are so dependent on technology and when it brea...

What does it take to make a business that works for you, and not the other way round? Find out what’s holding you back with today’s guest, Nick Cramp. He’s the author of ‘ Better Before Bigger: Rethinking Business Success ’ and a Transformation Coach. Having worked previously as a business owner, Nick understands that running a company can sometimes feel overwhelming.  I had a great time spea...

From chefs to bartenders, live musicians to DJs, HOMEtainment helps create memorable events from the comfort of your own home. Today I’m joined by the co-founder, Antoine Melon, who has over 25 years of experience in opening and running restaurants and hotels all over the world. Antoine launched HOMEtainment during the pandemic, so I can’t wait to learn more about his experiences. In this episode...

It’s great to have another deep dive into digital transformation with Hugo Engel who is Digital Executive at Leon restaurants where he is part of building the restaurant for the future. We will be talking about: how Leon is using digital ordering capabilities to serve and understand customers better. Michael and Hugo talk about: How to use digital ordering capabilities to serve and understand cust...

Today’s guest David Lockwood has been involved with the British cheese scene for 25 years – and is currently the Managing Director of Neal's Yard Dairy. The artisanal cheese retailer works with about 40 cheesemakers. They select, mature and sell farmhouse cheese from the UK and Ireland. Their secret to their success? Always have a clear, long-term plan in mind. I had a great time meeting David in...

Lee Curtis, CCHP, co-founded RESIDE in November 2017. RESIDE’s core purpose is to fundamentally change the short-term rental and alternative accommodation marketplace by leveraging their operational expertise, 3SIXTY technology platform and globally vetted supply chain to deliver a curated, compliant and high-touch, hyper local experience to guests anywhere in the world. In this fascinating conver...

In this Digital Titans conversation, our guest is James Sandrini Co-Founder & Strategy Director at 48.1. They are a creative agency in London that helps companies to get clarity on their brand and positioning and help to tell their story clearly to customers and employees. In this conversation, we talk about the power step back start to get the strategy right before just doing it.  ...

The GC Index® is the organimetric that empowers organisations to drive performance and achieve innovation by creating game-changing teams and cultures. Today we’re joined by the Co-Founder and Chief Polisher, Nathan Ott. His fundamental belief is that everyone can make an impact in their world. As such, he has created a global community of GC Partners and GCologists, who are committed to fostering...

Welcome to this special podcast series, Digital Titans, brought to you by Vita Mojo and Hospitality Mavericks. Tune into Amie from Vita Mojo who is excited to take you on this journey, as we explore the digital transformation within hospitality. During this series, you’ll hear from industry leaders from the likes of Leon, the Azzuri Group and Amazon. We’ll talk through how they transformed their b...

There’s one thing using technology in your business, and there is another thing implementing it. The Food and Beverage Global Business Unit at Oracle helps organizations connect every guest interaction to your back-of-house operations. With me today is Tim Brown, the unit’s Vice President of Global Solution Engineering. He leads an international team of experienced technical sales consultants dedi...

The Dubai Opera House, Four Seasons, Hard Rock, the Atlantis resorts – these are just a few of the notable projects designed by EDSA, a planning, landscape architecture and urban design firm founded in 1960. Dialling in from the US is ESDA’s Principal Richard Centolella, where he leads the Baltimore studio and oversees operations in New York City. He is a true maverick when it comes to designing f...

Throughout this series, we’ve explored the impactful ways of running a hospitality business, but the ultimate key to any business is to truly embody a diverse organisation. We are on a huge journey of learning when it comes to diversity and inclusion, and there are some clear blindspots as white men, so we needed to bring on Diversity and Inclusion expert Lorraine Copes as our guest.  Lorrain...

With our shared passion for checklists, Carina Martins Nakamá joins the show to reveal the power of having plans and processes in place so you can operate from a place of calmness. Carina is the Founder and Director of Benessere, which helps people and organisations in hospitality become healthier, happier and more prosperous. Carina has an MBA in Business Management at Fundacao Getulio Vargas – c...

Paddy & Scott’s is a true maverick coffee business. They cut out the middle-men and conglomerates; shortening the distance between coffee grower and coffee drinker. In 2016 they took on their very own coffee farm in Meru, Kenya, working directly with a family who have been growing coffee for generations. Paddy & Scott’s now produce over 30,000 cups of coffee per day: from their own fuellin...

We’re excited to be back with Hospitality and The Infinite Game, and today we dig into the different nuances of growth. A book that’s had a huge impact on us is ‘Small Giants’ by journalist Bo Burlingham. It explores what some of the most remarkable, under-the-radar companies are doing, and questions the usual definitions of business success. In this discussion, we unpick some key insights from th...

People stay at companies because they’re developing and progressing, not because their leaders think they ‘know it all’. To build this progressive culture, today’s guest shares how the skill in unlearning is more important than ever. Dialling in from the US, Barry O’Reilly is the Co-Founder of Nobody Studios, and author of ‘Unlearn’ and ‘Lean Enterprise’. He has pioneered the intersection of busin...

Simon Mitchell went from being a 90s DJ to his own events company, Impulse, in 2003, before joining Concerto Group in 2011. In early 2016, Simon joined as MD for KERB – a household name in the UK street food market. The membership organisation is dedicated to the incubation and acceleration of London’s most innovative street food businesses.  Street food is an incredible way of starting your...

There’s no doubt that the food delivery business supports the big chains but not the independent ones. Enter a real changemaker: Toby Savill, Co-Founder and CEO at Foodstuff – a new food delivery company in the UK which works with only independents, supports riders on living wage, and provides a zero emissions delivery. What’s more, Foodstuff launched during the pandemic, yet they’ve managed to sc...

Peter Backman and Michael Tingsager have chosen to come together to create a series of conversations to help leaders in the food and drinks industry to get better out of the starting blocks recovering from a pandemic, no one wanted and no one was ready for. We don't have all the answers but we wish to share our observations and insights which can help leaders to make better decisions about their s...

Mary Sue Miliken is one of my personal heroes. With over four decades of experience working in the hospitality sector, she has created a true legacy through her sustainability, social and culinary goals. Mary is an American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, activist, and radio and TV personality. She is best known for Border Grill restaurants, trucks, and catering, which she runs with her busin...

Systems, culture and business – those are the foundations for a successful, sustainable business. Jim Laube, Founder of RestaurantOwner.com, shares some practical applications and what you can start doing today. Join us as we explore the relationship between leadership and culture, and what we mean by ‘culture’. We also discuss communicating your values, empowering your staff, and practising daily...