Noel Mahony named BaxterStorey chief executive in WSH reshuffle

Westbury Street Holdings has restructured its executive team in a move that sees Noel Mahony step up to the role of chief executive of its business and industry division BaxterStorey.

Mahony, who won the Contract Caterer of the Year Catey award in 2009, joined BaxterStorey in 2004 and has played a key role in the company's success. Last month WSH reported that BaxterStorey had enjoyed year-on-year growth of 15% and annual turnover had risen to £240m.

Alastair Storey has retained his role as chairman of BaxterStorey, as well as chairman and chief executive of its parent company, WSH.

John Bennett, formerly managing director of BaxterStorey, has also taken on a new position. He is now chief operations officer responsible for the development of WSH's educations businesses Holroyd Howe Independent and Caterlink.

Storey told Caterersearch.com that while WSH is not focussing on any one area, education has growth potential. "We've got a relatively modest share of the market and we'd like to see that grow.

"We've got Nick Howe heading up Holroyd Howe in the independent sector, and Neil Fuller doing an excellent job heading up Caterlink, but we thought a senior guy putting some extra drive in there will create dividends."

Storey said that the restructure came as a result of strategy planning for the next three to five years. "It's about putting in resources early," he explained. "We try to make appointments a bit ahead of the game rather than playing catch-up. It's helped underscore our growth."

Both John Bennett and Noel Mahony will continue to report to Alastair Storey. Co-founder and former deputy chief executive William Baxter, who was last year named chairman of industry charity Hospitality Action, now has a non-executive ambassadorial role within the business.

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By Janie Stamford

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