Acorn Awards 2024: Polly Lamy, 29, head of commercial, Elior UK

Age 29

Position Head of commercial, Elior UK

Nominator Claire Small, director of innovation, Elior UK

Despite leaning more to the commercial side of the industry, Polly Lamy’s career is rooted in hospitality. Starting as a chef in a café 13 years ago, she set out to broaden her expertise, becoming a buying assistant at Fortnum & Mason and commercial brand manager at caterer SSP UK before joining Elior in 2022 as digital optimisation & trade marketing manager.

At Elior, she quickly assumed responsibility for the newly created trade marketing (TM) initiative, exceeding year-one targets by 5% and delivering £560,000, with her digital strategies driving 3% year-on-year sales growth.

Within just 10 months, these tangible achievements propelled Lamy into her current role as head of commercial at the contract caterer. In two years, she has grown the team from two to seven and is on track to deliver £2.6m incremental investment for the business. In fact, she created one of the most high-profile teams at Elior with a reputation for overachieving.

Needless to say, this has a positive impact on Lamy’s colleagues. In addition, through her commitment to mentoring, two employees have been promoted internally and under-performers have been transformed into successful team-players.

Somehow, Lamy also finds time to support the industry at large. She launched the Think Tank Elior initiative to connect start-ups, such as food safety supplier Klipspringer, with operators to kickstart their hospitality journeys. So far, she has driven a £45,000 commercial benefit across 12 starter brands. In another initiative, she worked with Unilever to run workshops and competitions to equip chefs with skills to reduce food waste.

Who has been your biggest champion in the industry?

"I’ve been fortunate to work under several incredible women over the course of my career who have acted as role models and mentors. Each one has provided invaluable guidance and support in a unique and invaluable way. I do not believe I would be the professional I am today without each of these women."

How do you go about getting the best out of your team?

"I focus on each team member’s talents individually, nurturing each of their strengths and building on positive contributions. This encourages a strong team with a culture of collaboration and ownership, allowing us to shine and drive success collectively."

What excites you most about the future of your role?

"You never know what the next big challenge will be in the hospitality industry. We work with people, creating something tangible that has a real impact on people’s lives. Nobody could have predicted the challenges we have all faced in the past few years, but I value these moments where you can turn lemons into lemonade and really drive innovation and progress."