In his new job role he will lead over 800 colleagues focused on the continued delivery of good nutritious food for pupils as well as cost management and operational excellence for clients.
Mathew will also be responsible for growth and retention through people development, an ‘innovative’ food offering, understanding and delivering on client needs and developing the proposition to unlock new opportunities.
Commenting on his appointment, Mathew said: “I’ve spent a large part of my career in the catering industry, and in particular education catering, and it’s great to be back in an industry I love, working with such dedicated people. Everyone has made me feel incredibly welcome and I thank them for this.
“It can feel like there’s a lot of negative noise around education catering – especially state, but I see opportunity. It’s important that we put our food offering front and centre, bringing innovation and excitement across the client portfolio and developing our reputation for being a trusted partner and a great place to work.
“The business is full of talented people, committed to doing the best by children and clients, and it’s essential that we nurture them. I want to create an environment in which they feel supported and thrive so together we achieve our goals.”
Matthew spent a large part of his career with Compass Group, mainly in managing director roles working across workplaces and education, notably heading up the higher education and independent education businesses.