Simon Townsend
Simon is a Senior Advisor with Teneo, based in the UK. He has extensive experience in the UK hospitality industry, having worked for over 35 years in various sales, marketing, commercial and operational roles.
Previously with Ei Group plc, Whitbread PLC, Allied Domecq PLC, The Rank Group Plc and Marston, Thompson & Evershed PLC, Simon was most recently Chief Executive Officer of Ei Group plc, the FTSE-listed owner and operator of over 4,000 pubs across England and Wales. He joined the Company in 1999, was appointed to the Board in 2000, and appointed as CEO in 2013 to lead a strategic transformation of the group. Ei Group plc was acquired by funds managed by TDR Capital in March 2020.
Simon is currently chairman of Wadworth & Co Ltd, a non-executive director of Cote Restaurants, Adnams Plc and JW Lees & Co Ltd and a member of the advisory board of diversity and inclusion organization WiHTL. Simon also served as a non-executive director and chair of the Sustainability Committee of FTSE-listed housebuilder Countryside Properties plc until November 2022.
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Teneo Insights Series UK: What is Ahead for the Consumer in 2023?
The UK narrowly avoided recession in 2022, and the most recent forecasts for 2023 suggest a shallower recession than was anticipated last November. Although inflation is forecast to fall, the UK economy still faces a number of challenges, including rising interest rates, wage pressures driven by inflation and a tight…