Principals by CH&CO strengthens team with key appointments

Strong growth at school caterer Principals by CH&CO has prompted the business to expand its operations team with two new appointments.

Colin Wills has joined the company as operations director for secondary schools, while Verity Butcher has been named operations manager for London primary schools.

The new appointments were made after the specialist state school caterer added 16 new schools with a total turnover value of £7.5m to its portfolio for the 2018/19 school year.

A trained chef, Wills brings 30 years of culinary and operations experience to the new role, with the past 12 years of his career focused on the education sector. Most recently he was regional business manager for Fleet-based school caterer Pabulum.

Butcher was promoted from within Principles by CH&CO having worked in the business for the last 12 years. She began her catering career as a general assistant in a school kitchen and now oversees the performance of Principals' London schools, having qualified as a Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and ISO auditor.

Peter McKenna, sales director for Principals by CH&CO, said: "It's great that Colin and Verity have joined the team. Their valuable contribution will uphold our reputation of delivering innovative, creative solutions and building genuine partnerships with the schools we work with to be a positive part of each school community. Their excellent operational, management and customer skills will benefit our catering teams, our clients and, most importantly, the children we feed.

"Principals by CH&CO is in a period of continued growth that is seeing us expand and move into new geographical areas; Colin and Verity are the perfect candidates to support this and help maximise the opportunities."

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