Home > News > October 2004 > 12-Oct-2004

New CEO for skills body

People 1st, the recently-launched Sector Skills Council for the Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism industries, will introduce Brian Wisdom as the new CEO at its inaugural conference on 2 December at the iMax, London.

"Brian will bring to the organisation his extensive experience of the industry working within companies such as Six Continents and Whitbread," said John Brackenbury, Chairman of People 1st.

"Brian's appointment as People 1st's first permanent CEO concludes a successful year in which Simon Turl, the interim CEO seconded from Compass Group, led the organisation through the process of achieving Sector Skills Council status. As CEO, Brian will take forward the organisation's work at the heart of the skills agenda in the UK. This includes representing industry to government and learning providers, helping address current and future skills issues and increasing business productivity and individuals' employability."

Prior to his new appointment at People 1st, Wisdom was Director and General Manager of Harvester Restaurants for Six Continents Plc, Operations Director for First Quench Retailing, and Operations Director of Thresher for Whitbread Plc after beginning his career at Grand Metropolitan Plc.

Wisdom said: "This is a dynamic and fast-moving sector and the role is an excellent opportunity to make a real difference in the UK. If leisure, hospitality, travel and tourism is to achieve its full potential, employers and staff need access to appropriate training and the right funding. The future success of the industry is in improving skills and productivity. People 1st is perfectly positioned to rise to these skills challenges and I look forward to taking up the role".

The UK hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industry is worth over £42 billion a year and employs more than 1.6 million people in more than 180,000 organisations.

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