CH&CO, part of Compass Group UK, has promoted Liam Hatcher MCIPD to the role of People Director, where he will draw on his HR and operational expertise to strategically lead the People function across the contract catering and hospitality group, which employs over 9,000 people and includes the well-known brands Company of Cooks, Gather + Gather and Vacherin.
In addition, his leadership responsibilities include the Learning & Development, Internal Communications and Facilities teams.
CH&CO says Hatcher’s promotion is in recognition of the incredible contribution he has made to the business and its people over the past 13 years. Most notably and recently, this includes leading his team to deliver award-winning People transformational change initiatives that elevated best practice at every stage of the employee lifecycle. He also expertly spearheaded the People integration into Compass Group UK&I following CH&CO’s acquisition.
Hatcher said: “It’s an absolute privilege to be the People Director for CH&CO. Doing the right thing by our people drives me and together with my amazing team, we’re committed to continually improving the employee experience for everyone. My career path with CH&CO has been fantastic, and I’m grateful for the support and opportunities that have helped me get where I am today. I’m very excited about the future and ensuring our people have access to the great development and career opportunities our business and industry offer is very important to me.”
Bill Toner, CH&CO’s CEO, said: “Nurturing and developing great talent and leaders from within the business is important to us, and Liam is a fantastic example of this. He started out as a brilliant operator, but when people and training took his interest, we supported his career change, and the rest, as they say, is history. He’s put in the hard work, gained qualifications through apprenticeships and proactively learned from others. Today, his impressive HR knowledge coupled with his operational background and understanding make him a brilliant People Director; one that leads with expertise, credibility and empathy. I couldn’t be prouder of Liam. He’s well regarded and trusted across the business and our people are in good hands.”
FMJ and Watco Webinar: Meeting compliance in a new culture of accountability
From January 2026, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) formally separated from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Created under the Building Safety Act 2022 in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the BSR is designed to raise safety standards across the built environment and introduce a stronger culture of accountability, transparency, and proactive risk management.
This shift places facilities managers in a more strategic safety assurance role – far beyond routine maintenance.
FMJ and Watco are hosting a webinar on 22 April at 11:00am to explore what this new regulatory landscape means for FMs. To register for the webinar click here.
Can’t make it no problem…
Simply register above and after the webinar has been broadcast, we will send you a link to watch the recording.

