Our team

We have brought together talent from across the travel, food and other complimentary industries to deliver world-leading operational and business excellence.

From our general managers on the ground to our board directors, our management are some of the most experienced specialists in the business; a truly international team of food travel experts.

Andrew is Chief Executive Officer of SSP. SSP is the leading dedicated operator of food and beverage brands in travel locations worldwide, it has a long heritage in food and travel, with over 60 years experience in the industry and employs more than 30,000 staff across over 30 countries.

Andrew was a Group Board Director of Compass Group PLC for 9 years from 1997 until September 2005, initially as Group Finance Director and from 2004 as CEO of SSP. Andrew led SSP through the sale process from Compass in June 2006 and now heads the company under its private equity owner, EQT.

He has been involved in the foodservice industry since 1988 when he joined the management buy out team of Travellers Fare, the food retail arm of British Rail.

Andrew has previously worked for Prudential Corporation PLC and KPMG.
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Nick graduated from University of Surrey with an Honours degree in Hotel & Catering Administration, and subsequently spent many years working in both the hotel and restaurant sectors with Whitbread, Ladbroke (now Hilton) Group, Harry Ramsden's and Scotts Hospitality.

Nick joined Compass Group in 1993, initially as MD of SSP UK Airports, becoming President of SSP North America and then MD SSP International, developing new concessions markets around the world and integrating the newly acquired business of Louis Catering.

In September 2004 Nick was appointed CEO of SSP France and took on responsibility for SSP’s business in the Benelux countries. In November 2007 Nick was appointed CEO SSP UK Airports, retaining his responsibility for France and Benelux. In December 2008 Nick’s role was extended and now covers all the Group’s activities in Northern & Western Europe.
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Jonathan has been the CFO of SSP since its formation as a division of Compass Group in 2004. He is responsible for SSP’s Finance, IT, Supply Chain and Legal functions.

Before joining SSP, Jonathan worked for Safeway plc, the UK food retailer, from 1995 to 2004. He was appointed to Safeway’s Operations Board as Finance Director in 2000.

Prior to Safeway, Jonathan worked for OC&C, the strategic management consultancy group, from its formation in 1987 until 1995. During this time he helped OC&C to develop from a start-up to become a leading international consulting firm. The majority of his work was for FMCG & retail clients.

He began his career in the food industry with Unilever, joining its management development programme in 1984.

He holds a degree in Chemistry from Oxford University and an MBA from INSEAD, France.
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After graduating from Hotel School in The Hague in 1993, Rick joined SSP in Amsterdam as Assistant Manager at Schipol Airport. He quickly developed a wealth of experience within SSP, moving on to key roles in international territories including Vice President, General Manager at JFK Airport Terminal 4, National Operations Director for South Africa and most recently Managing Director of SSP Switzerland where he was responsible for building the business to 50 units and quadrupling sales.

Rick was appointed to the role of Chief Marketing Officer SSP Group on 1st January 2011, responsible for the company’s entire marketing programme across all territories. Also falling within his remit is SSP’s Social Media strategy and responsibility for TravelWise, the largest cross brand, international cross channel food and beverage marketing and loyalty initiative.
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Sukh started his career with Imperial Inns and Taverns. He joined Sutcliffe Catering South in 1987 in various finance related roles progressing to Group Financial Controller for Sutcliffe Catering Group. He qualified as a CIMA Accountant in 1991. Sutcliffe Catering was subsequently acquired by Granada Group.

Following the acquisition of Forte Hotels by Granada Group in 1995, Sukh was appointed Finance Director of the newly created Granada Purchasing Limited. Granada Purchasing was set up to consolidate the purchasing leverage of the Granada Group. Two years later he was appointed Finance and Commercial Director adding Non Food Purchasing responsibilities for Granada Television, Forte Hotels, Granada Technology, Granada Motorways and Sutcliffe Catering, managing a spend in excess of £500m p.a.

Following the merger of Compass Group and Granada Group in 2000, Sukh was appointed Commercial Director responsible for developing a separate purchasing services business for third parties. During this time Sukh also gained an MBA with Oxford Brookes University.

In 2002, Sukh was appointed Managing Director of Compass Purchasing UK, managing a spend of £1bn p.a. He also joined the Compass UK Board in September 2003. In August 2004 Sukh was appointed Group Commercial Director of SSP. Sukh’s core responsibilities include purchasing, cost management and supply chain as well as leading key commercial negotiations across major SSP territories.
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Tony graduated from Manchester’s Hollings College with a degree in Hotel and Catering Management in 1982 and joined British Rail's Catering operation, Travellers Fare, as a Management Trainee. He took on various roles within Travellers Fare, principally in operations and marketing before becoming Managing Director of the business in 2000.

Today, Tony is responsible for SSP’s UK operations of over 700 units including the Airports and Railway station businesses, the Millie’s Cookies retail chain as well as Rail Gourmet, which focuses on 'onboard' train catering and logistics in UK and Europe.
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Chris began his career in retail management with J Sainsbury PLC before moving on to join Texas Homecare, then part of the Ladbroke Group. Chris held various roles in store management and then management development within the Ladbroke Group.

Chris joined Coopers & Lybrand HR consulting in 1994 advising businesses on planning and implementing change in their organisations. He moved to Granada Motorways and was appointed Human Resources Director for Motorways in 1996, with responsibility for quality and customer service. In 1999 he became Human Resources Director for the Granada Restaurants division, which included contract catering, roadside restaurants and motorways.

Following the merger of Compass and Granada in 2000 Chris spent three years as Human Resources Development Director with responsibility for development and succession of the senior management team and internal communications. In 2003 he was appointed to the position of Human Resources Director, SSP.
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Johann graduated from the Hotel and Tourism Management School in Salzburg, Austria in 1975. He began his working life in the hotel business, working for InterContinental Hotels and Sheraton in Austria, Germany, Kuwait and Turkey.

Johann joined SSP in 1992, in Turkey, as Area Manager Airport Restaurants. He then moved to the company's head office - at that time in Copenhagen - as VP Operations. In 2000 he became head of the SSP Global Business team in Chertsey, UK. In April 2004, Johann was appointed CEO of Central Europe and he is now based in Frankfurt. He also has overall responsibility for SSP’s Eastern European and North African business, as well as the Middle East, India and Asia Pacific regions.
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Les Cappetta is the President and CEO of SSP America. Under his leadership, SSP America has established a new culture, leading innovation, resulting in a high-rate of expansion in North America and adding nearly $100 million in new business.

In addition, Les has created both the structure and team necessary to deliver the company’s vision of revolutionizing airport dining through the introduction of international, first-in-kind and luxury restaurants. He and his team have been particularly adept at championing local brands and working with them to bring a strong sense of place and taste to the airport.

Prior to joining SSP, Les was a Senior Executive with United Parcel Service, Bank of America, Marriott Hotels and Resorts and most recently, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Design & Construction at HMS Host.

Les has led, and currently serves, on a number of industry, educational and trade association boards including; the Airport Council International – North America (ACI-NA) where he served as Chairman of the Associates’ Board of Directors. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Business and Finance. As a recognized Industry Thought Leader, he is often invited to speak at major academic, trade and industry conferences about global trends, service and product innovation.
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Bob’s illustrious career began at F.W. Woolworth Co in Canada where he worked for 20 years, rising up through the organisation from graduate trainee to Executive Vice President of the company for Canada.

On the acquisition of F.W. Woolworth Co by Walmart, Bob was appointed initially to Director of International Operations for Argentina and Brazil and then as Country Manager for the Caribbean.

He continued to work internationally, when he was specifically recruited by Kingfisher to start up a UK business, taking on the role of MD (opening 25 large new concept stores called Big W) and with responsibilities including the management of 300 of the largest Woolworth stores in the UK.
With the demerger of the business from Kingfisher, he was appointed Director of International Operations across the key territories of Brazil, Canada, Italy, and Poland.

His most recent role prior to joining SSP was as Change Director for Sainsbury’s UK, where he was responsible for implementing the £100m efficiency savings within the business at an operational level under the new CEO Justin King.

Bob’s mantra is ‘To make a difference where it makes a difference’, a philosophy he takes to every business he works in.
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Expertise

We are truly the Food Travel Experts, skilled in combining global reach with a distinctive local touch .

• Food
• Travel
• Consumer Insight
• Operations

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Developing talented people is an essential part of being the Food Travel Experts .

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