My route to the top – Bill Toner
Bill Toner arguably has one of the best views across London from his roomy office in Millbank Tower. It's hard to believe - taking it all in from the smart leather sofas opposite the window - that nearly 30 years ago this canny Scot almost followed his four brothers "down the pit". But it's true. He was, he says, "saved" by the hospitality industry.
"I started in the business when I was 14. I had a part-time job at Bridge Castle hotel in Bathgate [West Lothian] as a kitchen helper and I loved it," says Toner, now 45.
His dream was to become a chef. It's a long way from his position today as chief executive of the third-largest contract caterer in the UK, with more than 1,000 contracts and estimated annual turnover of £310m. But not every career move can be planned.
What might irritate some people is that Toner's big break was an accident. After a stint in France, working as chef de partie for Hotels Frontelle, and then back to Edinburgh where he ran a restaurant, he was offered a job as sous chef in South Africa at the Royal hotel in Durban. He was 23 and raring to go, but his pregnant wife, Susanne, was not so keen. She applied on his behalf for a position as catering manager at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh with contract caterer Gardner Merchant (now Sodexho). He got the job, and although he didn't realise it at the time, it was to turn his career around.
"Back then I thought of contract catering as short-term," he admits. "Then I started to like what I saw. I was looking after the kitchen and three executive dining rooms, and I was able to exploit my creative skills."
He was to spend the next 18 years working up the GM ladder, becoming managing director for the UK at the age of 36. Five years later he was headhunted by Aramark. They wanted a replacement for William McCall, who was due to retire. Sodexho didn't give him up without a fight, however, even issuing a writ against him to hold him to his 12-month notice period. The tension was diffused when Toner went to work for Aramark in the USA for six months.
Looking back, Toner acknowledges that GM's focus on senior management development helped make him what he is today. "It allowed me to become a true businessman as opposed to a caterer, and I am privileged that I had that opportunity," he says.
So what is the driving force behind Toner? "I trained to become a chef but decided to move into hotel management because I was frustrated at how hard I was working then handing over a day's work to casuals who didn't care. The only way to control the situation was to manage it," he explains.
So is he a control freak? "That's a hard one. My wife would say ‘yes'. I suppose I like things to be done properly. If something was wrong [at a contract], I would say something then and there. Then I would come back and think strategically with the manager about how it could be improved."
Final question - what does he think life might have been like if he hadn't pursued a career in hospitality? "I've never really looked back," he says.
Up close and personal
Married for 21 years to Susanne, whom he met when they worked at Linlithgow House - she was the owner's secretary. "We go back for anniversaries," he says.
Children: Joanne, 19, Blair, 18.
Home: Camberley, Surrey.
Hobbies: Golf - well, it's a work-hobby. I don't really have any hobbies - my family's my hobby
Favourite music: I'm tone deaf. My daughter plays in a rock band and I go to listen to her.
What do you worry about? The short-termism of the industry - where is the investment in training young people? It's a problem across the board in every profession. I feel it's my duty to give commitment to young people.
Can you see yourself going back into hotels one day? I can see myself - and Susanne - as the hosts of a small hotel with a lovely restaurant.
How I got there
1977 Telford College, Edinburgh - OND in Hotel Catering & International Management, five City & Guilds culinary courses and an HCIMA qualification.
1979 Worked for Hotels Frontelle in France as chef de partie in Toulouse, Montpellier and Le Grande Motte.
1981 Back to Edinburgh. Ran Bernards Restaurant Fran‡ais and a jazz club with his wife, Susanne, for six months.
1981 Gardner Merchant. General manager at Royal Bank of Scotland in Princes Street, Edinburgh.
1983 District manager looking after 18 Gardner Merchant contracts.
1985 Sales consultant, looking after a section of Scotland.
1987 Operations director, looking after three district managers and 50 contracts.
1989 Development director, Scotland, with added responsibility for sales.
1990 Regional director for London and Director's Table (still Gardner Merchant).
1992 Regional director, London and South.
1994 Managing director for the UK, covering facilities management, vending and business and industry.
1995 Responsibilities increased to include Ireland.
1999 Left Sodexho (formerly Gardner Merchant) to become chief executive of Aramark UK.
