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Compass Group UK & Ireland’s procurement division, Foodbuy Group, has appointed Lawrence Harvey as Chief Operating Officer UK&I, as the business continues to strengthen its leadership team and expand its operations across hospitality, leisure, health and education.
In his new role, Harvey will lead Foodbuy’s Group Purchasing Organisation (GPO) businesses, supporting more than 15,000 client sites nationwide. He will be responsible for driving operational performance, strengthening client partnerships and delivering long-term value for members and clients.
Foodbuy manages over £2.6 billion in managed spend, supporting clients across food, beverage and non-food categories. Its offer includes culinary expertise through Foodbuy Culinary Solutions, supporting menu development and chef development programmes, alongside its digital platforms delivered through Foodbuy Technology Solutions. These include Freshmarkets, enabling streamlined procurement and ordering, and CaterCloud, providing recipe and allergen management solutions to support operational efficiency and compliance across its member base.
Harvey brings extensive leadership experience across retail, financial services and hospitality, with previous senior roles at Aldi, Tesco, Barclays and Pizza Express. He has a strong track record of leading large-scale operational transformation and delivering performance improvement across complex, multi-site organisations.
Commenting on his appointment, Harvey said: “I’m delighted to be joining Foodbuy at such an exciting stage of its growth. I look forward to working with the team and brilliant colleagues to build on the strong foundations in place and to continue delivering operational excellence and value for our members and clients.”
Alex Demetriou, CEO of Foodbuy UK & Ireland, commented: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Lawrence to Foodbuy. He brings significant experience of driving operational transformation at scale, which will be instrumental as we continue to grow our GPO business and enhance the value we deliver to our clients through improved efficiency and commercial performance.”
