Catering company Compass Group has named Matthew Thompson as the new managing director for its sport, leisure and hospitality division.
Thompson, who will join the company in June, will replace Nigel Dunlop who is retiring in December. He will report to UK group managing director Ian El-Mokadem and will work together with Dunlop until the end of the year.
Thomas joins Compass from Centrica, where most recently he was commercial director. Previously he was managing director of the information services business unit at the utility group and also had responsibility for procurement and supply chain activities.
El-Mokadem said: “Dunlop has made a fantastic contribution to Compass Group. I wish him well in his retirement and look forward to working with Thomas over the coming months to continue the great work which has been led by Dunlop.
“Thomas’s consumer background coupled with time running his own business further strengthen the mix of experience we have on the UK executive.”
Compass earlier this week reported a solid rise in first half operating profit and said it expects profits to continue to grow.
The company, which recently sold its Selecta vending machine business, announced a further £500m share buyback, taking the total to £1b. Pre-tax profit rose to £224m in the six months to 31 March from £158m the year before on sales of £5.2b down slightly from the previous year.
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Read more on Compass here >>
By Kerstin Kühn
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