Ideas champion

Judy Roberts
Creative Director

I have worked for CH&Co since June 1997, coming into the business to work with Robyn Jones, the founder of our company and still a highly involved CEO, on business development from a contract catering operations background.

I joined the company when our annual turnover was just £5.5m with 27 contracts and 250 employees.  By the time I moved to become Creative Director in Jan 2008 we had close to 2000 employees across 130 sites and a turnover of over £70m, with a strong national presence.

The role of Creative Director was instigated by Robyn, with the vision of having an ‘ideas champion’ to help nurture initiatives across our business as it grows.

My job involves encouraging a climate of innovation and inspiration among our employees.  We typically attract creative and passionate individuals to work with us, but maintaining that passion and drive throughout their employment with us is crucial to the development of both the company and the person.  I capture ideas and share them across the business via our intranet and emailer comms – always giving credit for where the ideas have come from, thus helping to inspire further creativity and a certain healthy amount of competition!

I am also involved in drawing up plans for site refurbishments or ‘fresh looks’, sourcing and coordinating all the props, signage and latest products and suppliers to update our restaurants, improve profitability and maintain our customer uptake levels.