Gather & Gather appoints new director of operations for Ireland

Gather & Gather has appointed Alan Russell (pictured) as director of operations for its catering business in Ireland.

Russell joins the catering arm of facilities management firm Mitie with 25 years' hospitality experience, having begun his career as a hotel chef.

Past roles include senior positions at Sodexo, and more recently Compass Group where he was head of operations for business and industry and healthcare in Ireland, managing more than €35m of business.

He will be responsible for managing the company's existing Irish catering portfolio, as well as growing the Gather & Gather brand in Ireland over the course of 2014.

Mitie's catering business relaunched as Gather & Gather last year. It said that business has more than trebled its turnover over the past two years through new contract wins and the acquisition of hospitality company CreativEvents.

Allister Richards, managing director of Gather & Gather, said: "This is a fantastic appointment for Gather & Gather and I'm delighted to have such an experienced and successful operations director as part of the team."

Russell said: "I'm really excited about working with this team to develop the Irish business. Great food, a strong brand, operational flair and creativity, and an entrepreneurial culture - all backed up by a FTSE 250 parent company - isn't a combination that comes along every day. I believe it's just what the market has been waiting for."