McDonald's HR boss is new chairman at People 1st

17 August 2009 by
McDonald's HR boss is new chairman at People 1st

People 1st, the sector skills council for hospitality, has appointed McDonald's HR chief David Fairhurst as its new chairman.

Fairhurst, who has been People 1st vice-chairman for two years, is vice president, chief people officer at McDonald's Restaurants UK & Northern Europe, where he has responsibility for the delivery for HR training, education, customer services and environmental strategy.

He succeeds current chairman Don Davenport, who has been appointed president of People 1st in recognition of his commitment to the organisation over many years.

Brian Wisdom, chief executive of People 1st, said Fairhurst's appointment sets a new focus on the organisation's development programme to transform skills in the run up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London.

"David has impeccable credentials and significant experience in developing people-focused agendas and is passionate in his commitment to the development of qualifications and training. His leadership will be of enormous benefit to People 1st," he said.

Fairhurst added: "The hospitality sector, with its job creation and continued investment in training, is showing the rest of the country how to emerge from the downturn. More than that, it is the key industrial platform for social mobility in Britain today, providing a genuine meritocracy for people development."

He said that as chairman of People 1st, he is committed to accelerate and increase the qualifications available to entrants to the hospitality industry.

"A more skilled workforce will be essential to take advantage of the growth opportunity offered by London 2012 and to ensure hospitality and tourism continues to be a huge driver of our economy," he said.

People 1st delivers two new customer service qualifications >>

People 1st deal offers hospitality bosses pre-trained jobseekers >>

People 1st retains skills council licence >>

Older workers boost profits at McDonald's restaurants >>

By Janie Stamford

E-mail your comments to Janie Stamford here.

If you have something to say on this story or anything else join the debate at Table Talk - Caterer's new networking forum. Go to www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk

Caterersearch.com jobs
Looking for a new job? Find your next job here with Caterersearch.com jobs

Blogs on Caterersearch.com](http://www.caterersearch.com/blogs) Catch up with more news and gossip on all Caterer's blogs
[Newsletters For the latest hospitality news, sign up for our e-mail newsletters.
The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking