Acorns 2018: Sophie Cox, chief operating officer, Koh UK

Chief operating officer, Koh UK

Nominator Jade Evans, brand manager, Peroni

Proudest moment "My promotion to chief operating officer."

Biggest inspiration "The drive of my chief executive Andrew Lennox, as reflected in the growth and success of the company. He once told me that ‘no was not an option', which I feel is a good mantra."

Ambition

 Hard work and dedication have propelled Sophie Cox up the ladder at Koh Thai Tapas, from starting out as a waitress in 2011 to her current role six years later. Along the way, she has honed her business skills as a personal assistant, executive assistant and operations director.

 Indeed, it was her sharp financial acumen that singled her out for her role as chief operating officer. During 2016 â€" a fast-paced year with four openings â€" Sophie showed her true grit in helping to secure a multimillion-pound management buyout for the company, with capital investment to fund further growth.Â

Since then, she has mastered everything from overseeing openings to finance and insurance. To keep the company lean, for instance, she has re-evaluated portion sizes, which has cut food waste, reduced the company’s carbon footprint and improved margins â€" passing cost savings on to the customer.Â

Cox has helped to create an ethos where colleagues support and motivate each other. She schedules weekly meetings across operations, marketing, HR, finance and kitchen operations to set out an organised agenda.

Somehow, between that and everything else, she finds time to visit the 13 sites and build relationships with all employees. She also champions the training assistant manager programme to progress staff from entry level and has mentored Bournemouth University students.

No wonder her nominator describes her as “the Swiss Army knife for the company”.