Acorn Awards 2025: Tom Howkins, CH&Co

Age 28

Position Principal power platform developer, CH&Co

Nominator Joe Parkinson, head of data, CH&Co

Tom Howkins is quietly transforming the way hospitality uses data – and saving CH&Co six-figure sums in efficiencies in the process. As principal power platform developer, Howkins has gone from account handler to tech trailblazer in under six years, building bespoke tools that streamline operations, cut costs and drive smarter decision-making across the business.

In the past year alone, Howkins has developed a suite of apps that have fundamentally changed the way CH&Co operates. His new business tracking application saves 50 hours of work a week. His apprenticeship tracking app consolidated 20 spreadsheets into one slick platform, freeing up days of admin time and ensuring the £1.4m apprenticeship levy is spent wisely. And when Compass acquired CH&Co last year, he was integral to the successful integration of both companies’ data, spanning 10,000 employees and 1,000 sites. He even devised a security solution previously thought impossible, earning recognition from the wider Microsoft developer community. 

But Howkins’s impact goes far beyond code. He’s led knowledge-sharing sessions across the business, making data accessible for all – from ops teams to senior leadership. His tech has supported everything from ESG reporting to financial forecasting, credit control and succession planning. Internally developed, his tools replace what would otherwise require major external investment.

Outside the day job, Howkins raised £1,000 for mental health charity Young Minds with a 100-mile charity walk and created tools that are helping CH&Co’s learning and development team give more people a route into hospitality.

Whether he’s debugging a system or mentoring colleagues, Howkins brings quiet brilliance and boundless initiative to every challenge. He’s the unseen engine behind a more connected, transparent and future-ready business.