Aramark Northern Europe has announced the appointment of Helen Milligan-Smith as Managing Director of Aramark UK Onshore. Her tenure will begin on January 4th, when she takes over from Lawrence Shirazian, who is leaving the business this week having joined in 2007.
Helen Milligan-Smith rose to sector prominence as a Finalist of the 2011 UK Apprentice, after which she took on the role of Head of Retail in Greggs UK. Her meteoric rise through the UK food service and food retail industry since then has been second to none, and she has since delivered growth and operational leadership in Brakes/Sysco – dealing with both partners/suppliers and competitors in the contract catering and food service industry, while simultaneously delivering commercial impact for her business. She joins Aramark UK from her role as Head of M&S Simply Foods (Moto Ltd.), now taking charge of operational growth at Aramark and innovation strategy for all UK markets.
“This is an excellent appointment for our UK business, as well as Northern Europe overall”, CEO of Aramark Northern Europe, Frank Gleeson said. “We’re not just excited about the skill set, expertise and experience that Helen will bring, but the character and personality we know will galvanise our entire business for the year ahead. She is a dynamic, and people-focused leader, who gets culture, who delivers growth, who drives innovation, and who notably brings a wealth of experience in organisational strategy. We look forward to what she will bring to our people, our clients, our customers, and indeed the whole industry going forward.”
“I couldn’t be happier with the challenge and opportunity ahead with Aramark”, Helen Milligan-Smith said. “I was really impressed with their growth agenda, their innovation, and the business aspirations for the year ahead. We know the consumer and industry has changed immensely in the last 12 months, and I look forward to bringing my food service and food retail perspective to lead the next phase of the company’s UK growth.”
Meet another former Apprentice who’s joined our business: Adam Freeman is on PV HERE