Ben Purton FIH MA

Hospitality and Education Professional

Ben has worked as the Executive Chef for a number of high profile brands, including The Royal Lancaster London catering for up to 800 people, The Royal Horseguards Hotel (recipient of two AA Rosettes), Selfridges, The Churchill Hotel and Goldman Sachs.

Since 2016 Ben has represented the U.K as a Judge for World Young Chef of the Year via the Chaine des Rotisseurs. He was also involved in MasterChef series 3 and 7 when the chefs were sent to his restaurant for their trade tests

Ben is a Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality, member of the Reunion des Gastronomes, and Conseiller Culinaire of La Chaine des Rotisseur GB

Specialties: Vocational training / Apprenticehips EPA / New operation openings

Paul Evans FIH MBA MCIM

Hospitality and Education Professional

Paul is a passionate communicator and entrepreneur with over 30 experience in the hospitality industry; including Hotel General Manager, Operations Director and running his own business.

As Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality and Chair of the London Branch he enjoys numerous and widespread industry contacts.

In academia he served as a Senior Education Director, Principal, University Pro-Proctor, Senior Leadership Team, Chair of various Working Groups, as Member of the University Learning and Teaching committee and Executive Training Council. He is also an Academic Council member for the Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (CTH), External for UWL and visiting scholar for ESH Hotel School Paris.

Paul is also an IAA for the Chartered Institute of Management and involved in End Point Assessment for the Senior Leadership Apprenticeship Standard

Specialities: Change Management / Strategic Education Policies / QAA,TEF,NSS / Education of International Students / Traineeship and Apprenticeship delivery and EPA / CMI / Online programme design and delivery / Level 3 and Foundation provision

Monica Or FIH MA MCIPD

Hospitality and Education Professional

With over 25 years industry experience having worked in, and managed 4 and 5 star hotels, Monica has been involved with the implementation of standards, hotel openings and refurbishments.
A regular contributor to Hotel Industry Magazine as their industry expert Monica is a published author: the two books she has written are both Amazon best sellers.
Monica has trained hundreds of individuals to develop their Customer Service skills and run masterclasses around a ‘signature’ system delivered in both in the UK and internationally at hotel conferences and trade shows.
Monica’s vision is to raise the profile of the hospitality industry so whichever hotel a guest stays in, or whichever restaurant they choose to dine at, they are taken on a unique customer service journey where the hospitality professionals they meet along the way create memorable experiences just for them.

Specialties: Hospitality Consultancy and developing aspiring Hospitality Managers / Licensed WorldHost™ / Trainer for Customer Service / Published author, Conference host and speaker in the UK and Internationally /Industry Expert Columnist.

Erika Redding MSc. MCIM

Change and Communications Director

Erika is a senior colleague engagement consultant and change practitioner with over 15 years’ experience delivering integrated and change programmes in complex organisations to aggressive timelines and demanding budgets. This includes such compnaies as Pfizer, Novartis, BAA Airports and, more recently, The Kennel Club.

Results driven, self-motivated, resourceful and focus on collaboration and authentic communication Erika has a strong track record of recruiting, leading and developing high performing teams.

Specialities: Change and change communications, narratives and story-telling, supported by stakeholder engagement, communications coaching, measurement and continuous improvement.