Foodservice Cateys 2021: Regional Manager of the Year: Neil Quinn, Sodexo

Quinn has been instrumental in driving the success of the day-to-day operations, improving stakeholder relations, growing the contract and guiding his teams through a global pandemic. More recently he has been working on launching the Johnnie Walker Experience – he was integral to the bid's success – and the relocation of Diageo's headquarters in London.

Quinn is responsible for the 500 people who manage the Diageo contract across the UK and Ireland, serving over 5,000 staff and customers. Under his leadership, the Diageo account has gone from strength to strength over the past couple of years, with Sodexo securing a new master services agreement in November 2019. The caterer has also achieved an 85% customer satisfaction score in its most recent survey with the drinks business, while the contract has seen impressive growth in profit in both 2020 and 2021.

Quinn has steered the contract through the pandemic, with many of Diageo's production sites continuing to operate throughout. While offices were initially closed, Quinn took one of the lead roles in the return-to-office project team, delivering new services to support the eventual reopening of the office spaces. He used the sites in his care that remained open or partially open to test innovations and new ways of working. Quinn and his team also implemented many procedures during the troubling period, including additional sanitation and reactive disinfection, temperature scanning, click and collect services, successful Bureau Veritas independent audits at HQ sites and much more.

But the big challenge was making sure that skeleton staff in offices, home-workers and employees in production sites remained engaged. He also took the time to mentor members of the team. A talent from the Edinburgh Park team was promoted and given experience in crisis management and business continuity under his watchful eye.

Quinn volunteers for Forth Valley College's career-ready initiative, and mentored a high school student in their final two years who was undertaking a four-week internship with Sodexo. He is also involved in the Sodexo SheWorks prison leavers programme, which supports female residents from prisons across England to find work at Sodexo.

His work with these two initiatives will, he hopes, encourage more people into foodservice and hospitality at a time when staff shortages are blighting the industry.

While many areas of the Sodexo business have taken a severe hit during the pandemic, the Diageo contract has continued to adapt and improve, thanks to the leadership of Quinn, who has future-proofed the drinks company's catering services for the future.

The shortlist

• Petra Bliss, ISS Food Services
• Karl Cameron, Aramark
• Louise Denton, BaxterStorey
• Andrew Finn, Eurest
• Neil Quinn, Sodexo

Past winners

• 2019 Rebecca Armstrong, the Genuine Dining Co
• 2018 Greg Bramwell, BaxterStorey
• 2017 Marie Arthur, Sodexo
• 2016 Catharine Barras, BaxterStorey
• 2015 Matt Wood, Restaurant Associates
• 2014 Michele Ribaudo, BaxterStorey
• 2013 Chloe Green, Lexington Catering