The support team
There are quite a few faces behind the scenes that keep everything running beautifully smoothly. As it's always nice to put a face to a name, you can scan down the list or click each department to find out a little more about everyone.
If you would like to email a member of the team, it's very simple, use their first name, then dot, then surname, followed by @brunningandprice.co.uk example: [email protected]
Directors
Mary
Managing Director
Mary was born and brought up in Perth, Scotland, and went to Edinburgh University to read Geography, where she aced a First and a Masters in Volcanos and Glaciers. Whenever we have a query in the Fire and Ice department, Mary is our natural go-to resource.
After uni Mary set off to explore the world, and was for a time a High Adventure Chief in North Carolina, which is what Americans call 'a climbing instructor'. Australia and New Zealand followed, and such is the way of things, she ended up working in a pub on her return to Albion, pondering the route ahead.
She didn't ponder long, and soon entered the Whitbread Graduate Training Scheme, her career climb following an inexorably upward incline with posts as Area Manager, Ops Manager and Ops Director, finally summiting as Managing Director of Slug and Lettuce. Mary subsequently poured her DNA into the deep end of the B&P gene pool in the spring of 2014, when she took over the reins as Managing Director. So there you have it: a career path littered with mixed metaphors.
On a more personal note, as a wee thing Mary appeared on the Antiques Roadshow and Songs of Praise (we would so like to see a tape of that), and her grandfather was a Battle of Britain pilot. She plays the flute and curiously her ears don't match, so in a stiff breeze she has a tendency to gently rotate, in the manner of a rotary washing line hung with a bath towel on one side and a tea towel on the other.
She has completed two half-marathons and is married to Paul and has two step-children, Alice and Jess, and her favourite cheese is Gorgonzola. It's fair to say though that the love of her life is her beautiful black Lab, Zeffirelli.
Operations
Tom
Operations Director - National
Originally from the Midlands, Tom’s local watering hole was the Fox in Chetwynd Aston, where he spent many a night enjoying a pint with friends whilst studying to be a chef at University College Birmingham. Following 18 months sunning himself (and cheffing apparently) in South Carolina Tom graduated with a Diploma and Degree which earned him a place on a graduate programme with hotel group Malmaison / Hotel Du Vin where he spent a successful eight years working his way up to General Manager in the beautiful city of Edinburgh.
In 2010 Tom was drawn back to the Fox for a belated meet up with friends and spotted an advert for Operations Manager which caught his eye; the rest as they say is history!. He joined Brunning and Price as Operations Manager South, before being promoted to Operations Director National.
He's worked all over the country, from Birmingham to Glasgow, Hampshire to Surrey and everywhere in-between finally settling down in rolling hills of Shropshire with wife Claire and his two sons Oscar and Dylan.
James
Operations Manager
James joins us from working as an ops manager for a successful restaurant group responsible for some high profile sites in the Midlands and South West London. From his routes as a highly trained Chef he has covered pretty much every role front and back of house, which makes him an ideal fit to his role with us. He lives with his partner Jo, their son Ethan and Rocky the dog. James is still a keen footballer however is rather upset that he now can play in the veterans' league.
Sal
Operations Manager
Sal started off in our kitchens as his first ever job, over 25 years’ ago! Food and drink were a clear passion from day one and he’s certainly one for the people. Hailing from the north-west, he took the plunge and decided to be move down south in 2001. Sal has many favourite pastimes including cooking, he often gets votes for cooking the large family Sunday roasts (probably due to his epic roast potatoes!). He loves to spend the majority of his time with his partner, Kate and his children, Jake, Ava and Kina (with baby number 4 cooking away as you read, due early 2024!!). Favourite hobbies of theirs include, visiting theme parks, along with bike rides, often round the famous trails at Swinley Forrest (Sal's rather experienced on his mountain bike). He’s also a big fan of F1 and attends a different race around the globe each year. When he's not busy with all that, he'll likely be found with a beer in hand ... and a glass of red wine in the other!
Stephen
Operations Manager
Steve is an old school pub man who loves his ales and always has a warm and friendly way about him. He recently took up the role of Operations Manager for us having spent years behind the bars of one of our pubs or another. When he isn't working he is either jumping out of planes or at home his wife Emma and children Bethany and Connor - who both think he plays professionally for Arsenal.
Hannah
Operations Manager
Hannah joined us at B&P in 2018 after managing pubs for Young’s in the hustle and bustle of Borough Market in London. Wanting to move back up North, closer to her family in Llangollen, she took on the reigns of the Architect in Chester for 5 years, embracing the race day crowds and the sun-filled garden, before joining the Ops team in the North.
Hannah loves getting out and about around the Chester and North Wales area with her Cocker Spaniel, Bailey and loves all things craft beer and gin related.
Ioan
Operations Manager
Ioan hails from Cardiff originally and brings his passionate Welsh rugby-loving personality to our ranks following many years in hospitality. Ioan has worked in many guises and found his love for food, drink and pubs (in front of the bar and behind it) whilst studying Business and Analytics in University. Earning his stripes in pubs and restaurants alongside his studies, he’s worked in every role from kitchens to front of house including a stint working across Europe as well as in consulting before joining the B&P ranks. His loves include Rugby, Bourbon and big Italian Reds.
Bethany
Operations Support Manager
Beth has always been in hospitality working in various restaurants and hotels after living in Chester and studying Drama at university. Beth has now been working for B&P for nearly a decade and after running two of our pubs she decided to join the support team and work on all things drink and people. We can see the appeal! Beth and her husband Jack live in Hampshire with two spaniels who grew up in pubs (we think the dogs are incredibly disappointed not to be running around and annoying the gardeners anymore). If not at work, you’ll find Beth with friends and family enjoying a gin or fizz or five! She loves a good water-ski, paddleboard with the dogs and does it all with a big smile on her face!
Amy
Reception and Admin Support
Amy is Chester born and bred and has had lots of experience in a variety of different administrative roles, so our Reception desk is safe in her hands.
She loves to get outdoors when she can and hikes/explores all things of natural beauty, waterfalls, hills, mountains and amazing scenery. She has two young children (or wildlings as she calls them) to maintain on an ongoing basis… and totally unrelated to this fact likes an occasional little tipple of prosecco or gin of the sweet and fruity kind, and she loves a bit of bad karaoke.
Like us all, she's a lover of food… calamari, steak, lasagne and roast dinners are high up there on the list along with most things involving pastry, sweet or savoury.
Finance
Richard
Head of Finance
Rich Meadows worked at our ‘Mothership Company’ TRG for 4 years before joining us here at B&P in early 2022. Rich studied Business Management at Birmingham Uni where he was also Club Captain of the water polo team (which explains why he was like a fish in a fetching swimming cap during our charity swim for Diabetes UK in the Summer). There he met his now wife Lucy and developed a true love story with beer. Lucy and Rich are now joined by Bilbo their German Shorthaired Pointer who, when not behind a spreadsheet, he loves to take for long walks (usually culminating in a pub somewhere and more beer).
Paris
Commercial Finance Manager
Paris would say she isn’t your 'typical accountant'. Originally from the black country (yes, she has the accent) she was bought up to love a good pint and a pack of pork scratchings, and once she found her love for numbers, a finance career in Pubs seemed the perfect fit. She enjoyed a successful and enjoyable career at Mitchells and Butlers where she worked her way up the ranks whilst becoming qualified, but after 13 years she bit our hand off at the opportunity to work with us here at B&P.
On a weekend you will find Paris hiking up a mountain or ticking things off her bucket list. She recently discovered (at our xmas party after several beers) that she can roller-skate, and her claim to fame is doing a skydive with Shirley Ballas!
Paul
Finance Manager
Paul was born at a very young age and grew up in Bodfari, so was already familiar with the Dinorben Arms long before it became one of our pubs. He studied Finance and Business in Hull, and his sandwich year was spent in the Downing Arms in Bodfari (working, he says … providing a bit of healthy competition to the Dinorben back in the day). These days, when he’s not trying to get the numbers to add up you might find him running somewhere in the Welsh hills. Previously Paul has done number crunching in Fine Art, Haulage and Cheese as well as School Governor and Church Treasurer. What they don't know, but we do, is that he is a bit of a wild thing (click his photo for evidence).
Andrew
Payroll Manager
Andrew is South Yorkshire born and bred, where he lived next door to a Chuckle Brother. As a career payroller and number cruncher, work gave Andrew the opportunity to cross the border and move to Manchester in 2004 but a slower, less urban life beckoned and he and his partner landed in the beautiful county of Shropshire in 2007. Andrew admits to eating well and enjoys the odd glass/bottle of wine, so working with B&P seemed like the next natural step in his journey of life.
Aimee
Payroll Controller
Aimee is an Oswestry (Maesbury) girl, and joined the payroll team in 2014. She is happily married with a son, and another little blessing is on the way. In common with most of the girls in the office, she loves eating out, watching films and shopping, and has done a fair amount of travelling in her past particularly in America and Australia. Aimee is particularly fond of a mild Cheddar.
Human Resources
Jane
Head of HR
Jane came to us after seven years with Nestle: she started there as Customer Services manager but soon progressed to HR manager. At university Jane took options in Cultural Studies, which basically meant watching soap operas, and she still keeps up with Cultural Studies to this day. She drinks Gavi di Gavi and is a self-confessed foodie, being particularly partial to a bit of haddock. She plays netball to redress the balance.
Beth
HR Manager
Beth did her A levels at Yale, followed by a Psychology degree at the University of Wales in Swansea. She honed her HR skills during 5 years at Airbus, and her social skills during 10 years at the Pant, her Gresford local. Unusually for one so appreciative of the pleasures of grape and hop, Beth enjoys running, with the eventual goal of completing a half marathon.
Caroline
HR Manager
Caroline is one of our HR Manager's in the south and with a wealth of HR experience behind her she's certainly well placed to provide professional HR support to our southern crew.
Being a mum to two young daughters, Caroline would say her main interests outside of work are Peppa Pig and CBBC's but she's also been known to enjoy a tipple (or two) alongside a lovely meal when she gets the chance and so she's spoilt for choice with all those pubs in the south ...... So many pubs, so little time!
Irene
HR Manager
Irene began her HR career with Unilever before taking a break to have her two children. She then joined B&P way back in 1999. She grew up in Geneva, loves to travel and relishes all opportunities to hike, cycle tour or ski in the Alps. She loves food, wine and rowing so working for a pub company based in Chester on the River Dee works out quite well.
Jan
HR Manager
Jan has worked in HR for more than half her life and so has a wealth of experience. After working as HR Manager for the Bank of Scotland and Grosvenor Estate she joined B&P in 2010 and so has aged with us like a decent bottle of wine. Jan works part time now and in her spare time, her greatest passions in life are family and friends along with wine, food and a bit more wine please!
Rachel
HR Manager
Rachel is our HR Manager in the south and joined us a few years ago with a wealth of experience in all things HR, and a particularly keen eye for Employment Law. When she’s not busy working, Rachel enjoys jetting off to explore new places around the world. She also likes going for sunny walks with her dog, especially if there’s a pub stop involved along the way. With her passion for Prosecco, Rachel is certainly in good company here at B&P.
Laura
Training Manager
Laura comes to us from branded restaurants having worked both as a manager and as part of the Training team. She grew up in the Surrey countryside and now lives in Sussex with her husband and little boy. However she secretly prefers it when they are out of the house so she can catch up on her box sets while enjoying a glass of Pinot Noir (or a bottle). She also has the very talented skill of being able to peel a banana with her feet!
Suzy
Training Manager
I think it is perhaps not too presumptive to say that Suzy's career path, from the get-go some 20 years ago, has been relentlessly leading her to B&P's front door.
Everything in her CV would appear to be specifically tailored to the role - she has opened pubs, run pubs, been a pre-opening training manager, a business implementation trainer, and latterly a freelance trainer and bar consultant. In fact, in her CV there are more trainers than you'd find at Newmarket.
Suzy loves cooking for friends; keeping fit; scrabble and crosswords; and, dare we say it, eating and drinking out. She's a natural fit.
Jemma
Recruitment Manager
Jemma's degree in business studies initially led her into a career as the owner of a successful country pub before joining Stonegate pub group as a recruitment manager.
After subsequently setting up her own recruitment agency, Jemma has a vast knowledge and strong business acumen in all things pubs and pub people and she's focusing on supporting our southern patch to fill in all the pieces of our people jigsaw puzzle.
With a young son to take care of, in her spare time Jemma enjoys cars, cycling, snowboarding and running so she'll soon be able to get around our southern pubs (except via snowboarding!) to provide them with all the support they need to build great teams.
Lucy
Recruitment Manager
After graduating with a degree in drama, Lucy's career in learning and development and recruitment management with Mitchells and Butlers has certainly put her on the right course for managing B&P's recruitment needs in the Midlands and South.
With lots of tricks up her sleeve for matching great people to great jobs, Lucy will be a huge asset to the B&P recruitment team.
Based in the Midlands with her dog Rio (who by the way has his own Instagram page with over 10,000 followers!) Lucy has a true zest for life. She's an avid pole and hoop fitness fan, loves eating out, drinking, and trying out new bars and restaurants so she's now added a whole lot more pub visits to her to do list!
Russell
Recruitment Manager
Before joining B&P, Russell enjoyed a successful career at a senior level with a well-known recruitment agency and he brings a wealth of recruitment skills and knowledge to the team.
With the ongoing expansion of our northern pubs and continued development of our existing crew, Russell is working his magic attracting some extra new talent to the Brunning and Price family.
Based in Shrewsbury, Russell is a self-confessed football fanatic with a degree in Sports Management and Coaching and enjoys managing his son's junior football team. When he's not running around with a whistle in his hand, he enjoys a good night out and has a particular passion for sampling cider. With over three hundred cider varieties in the UK and a fair few on offer across our pubs, Russell definitely has his work cut out!
Nicki
HR Support
Nicki joined us in 2015 and is a Cestrian. Her best times (obviously apart from being at work) are spent with friends over a glass of very cold, very dry Sauvignon Blanc or watching live bands at festivals where she has been known to partake in a warm Cider (when in Rome). Outside of all that her beautiful daughter Isabella and watching atrocious reality TV keeps her busy.
Sarah
Engagement and Reward Manager
Sarah started off in the hospitality industry back when she was 16 but was drawn to the glitz and glam of HR. Specialising in Reward and Wellbeing, her passion lies with making work a great place to be.
Quite an adventurer at heart, Sarah loves to travel and has trekked the Inca Trail in Peru, the Himalayas in India, and the Jordanian desert for charity. Seeing local wildlife is always a highlight, with her most recent trip taking her to Australia and Borneo to visit the Orangutans and Sun Bears.
A few years ago her family took a leap of faith towards a lifelong dream and purchased an old wreck of a property in France. Whenever she gets a chance, Sarah loves to pop over and help with the renovations and has certainly learnt a few new trades whilst also working her way through the many wine regions and sampling the local produce!
Sarah has recently achieved her Level 1 Certificate in Tap Dance, after years of wanting to rekindle an old passion. She is a new, yet avid F1 fan and in the warmer months of the year, can be found open water swimming in her local marine lake.
Chef Support
David
Executive Chef
You can tell just by looking at him that Dave is a real character, and we’re very pleased to have him in the company. Dave came to us from heading up the kitchens at Crewe Hall, so he knows his oats. Quite apart from his cooking, he's guaranteed to cheer you up.
Michael
Executive Chef
Mike first joined the company in 1997, and soon graduated to heading up the chef team at Glasfryn at the time of opening. After three years of galloping success he left for the green pastures of executive chefdom, but returned to us after a year or so to run our chef support function in the company and in 2006 he became Executive chef. He's the man to help with in-house training, roving chefs and their rotas, trainee chefs and college liason, and all the key areas surrounding food development and production, acting as a consultant to the pubs. He's married to Lynn and they have two children, Jennifer and Patrick (who looks just like his Dad).
James
Executive Chef
James started at the beginning of May 2009 after a nine month golf sabbatical that took him all over the world. When he's not on the stove he seems to find plenty of other work to keep him occupied (his handicap has suffered) or if time allows, his head will be under the bonnet of one of a myriad of large Mercedes he drives, although his pride and joy is a maroon Ford Ka. There's no accounting for taste.
Ashley
Executive Chef
Ash is an accomplished Head Chef from Stourbridge and developed his career as a professional chef working in classic country pub restaurants. We snapped up the opportunity to lure Ash away from his previous employer and we're delighted that he's brought his seriously foodie talents to the Physician.
Ash has a 5-month-old baby boy called Foalan and when he's not cooking or recovering from his sleepless nights he loves American football and drinking Guinness in Digbeth.
Warren
Executive Chef
Warren is a chef's chef and has a wonderful ability to get on with absolutely anybody. He is hugely respected by other head chefs in the company, and whichever kitchens he headed up in the past, you could guarantee you'd find a really happy ship. He is a tireless worker, which is just as well in the circumstances, and would appear to be completely unflappable. Warren is a man of few words, so he and Mike balance each other out nicely.
Billy
Executive Chef
Billy first started as a chef at the tender age of fourteen, and toiled at the coal face for eighteen years. During that time he was Sous chef at Gravetye Manor for four years when it first gained its Michelin star. He became Head chef at Amberley Castle before returning to Gravetye as Head chef for another four years, successfully retaining its Michelin star. Billy then progressed to being the Exec chef for an Italian food group before joining us in 2011. His hobbies are fly-fishing and photography, particularly food photography.
Marketing and Communications
Nicola
Head of Marketing and Communications
Nicola has been communicating (far too often and far too loudly some might say) for years and added marketing to her talents at the tender age of 18, with the simplistic beginning of being the "best pub chalk board writer in Coventry" (remember those drawings of the Hooch Lemon?). Being a bit flamboyant her degree is in Theatre Design which came in handy when designing a myriad of not so stylish theme bars in the late 90's. She likes to think that her hobbies include travel, parties and trying out exotic recipes, but the reality that she is slowly coming to terms with is that actually she likes pyjamas, anything wrapped in pastry, a good book and walks in her woolly hat with her sausage dogs.
Jake
Marketing Manager
Jake started adult life studying Exercise Science at Wolverhampton but after graduating soon realised that he was looking over the shoulders of his graphic design mates to see what they were up to... so he changed track.
He's done a fair bit of travelling in his time, in the Caribbean, South Africa. Philippines, and when we came across him he had his own web and graphic design agency in Manchester from which we had to prise him away.
He loves a challenge, and after settling down in Cheshire with his wife Gemma, and three girls Sophie, Eleri and Penny, he now gets his travelling fix on foot via ultra marathons, including having run the length of Wales and the 268 mile Pennine Way from the Peak District to Scotland!
Property Management
Dee
Project Manager
Dee joined the B&P family in 2015 after years and years of managing fabulous projects for others in the industry. She's better half to Steve, mum to 3 gorgeous children, 2 dogs and a tortoise. When she's not in a hard hat and boots Dee loves to sit on the sofa and drink wine, visit Disney land and generally enjoy her wonderful family.
Natalie
Property and Operations Support
Natalie hails from Wrexham where she was lured into working in the Cornmill from a very young age by her mother, who also works for B&P. After a spell as being the manager of the Architect in Chester, Nat moved across into our Property Department, but still lives in Chester along with her beloved Spaniel Cooper.
Stock Control
Martin
Stock Controller
Martin has been in the auditing game all his working life. He was the stationery cupboard monitor at school and was so good at counting pencils and tracking down missing Quink he decided to make a career of it. Extraordinarily, before he came to us the only previous interview he had ever had was for his very first job after school - it's just that ever since then he's been moved and promoted within companies as they've been taken over and merged, and got to be Deputy Regional manager without ever having to repeat the whole ghastly process. Mind you, he didn't appear nervous at all, so he must know his stuff.
Roving Staff
Tom
Roving Deputy Manager
Tom joined us back when he was studying Event Management down south. After becoming a fully fledged member for the B&P family at Sutton Hall in Macclesfield, Tom's love for all things pubs has lured him to spread his wings and move to a roving role, now traveling the country supporting our pubs wherever an experienced pair of hands are needed. Other than pubs, Tom has a passion for pints (hang on this still sounds pubby), houseplants and the occasional Gin & Tonic.
