New BII chief to visit regions

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McNamara vows to meet as many members as possibleJohn McNamara(pictured), the new chief executive of the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), has...

McNamara vows to meet as many members as possible

John McNamara(pictured), the new chief executive of the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), has pledged to get out into the regions and meet as many members as possible.

Mr McNamara said he wants to hear licensees' points of view about the issues affecting the trade when he takes up his new post in January next year.

"I want to make sure we remain relevant to our members at ground level and I intend to get out and meet as many members as I can, as soon as possible," he said.

He said he is also keen to encourage recruitment and training within the trade, something that his predecessor, Mary Curnock Cook, also supported.

"I think as a professional body the BII has to be involved in making sure people know there's a structure of training and opportunity. I want them to be able to see there's a route from being behind the bar in a pub through to management."

Mr McNamara's appointment comes soon after the relaunch of the BII's recruitment arm LCUK as BIICareers (See our article for more details) .

He said he agreed with Mary Curnock Cook's criticism of the industry for failing to support the initiative.

"What Mary said was absolutely true," he said. "We should look to the industry for support and I want to work closely with our big corporate members."

He said he was also keen to build on the BII's success in establishing industry qualifications. "The BII qualifications are really strong now and what I'd like to see eventually is a complete qualification ladder from the most basic, upwards," he said.

Mr McNamara, who has a background in training and development at the Hospitality Training Foundation, has been associated with several BII projects.

He said he was looking forward to taking up the new position. "I'm absolutely delighted to have been offered the job," he said. "It's a fantastic opportunity. Really my priority will be to keep the organisation going, keep it successful, but also try to be a bit different."

Brian Maughan will continue as the BII's acting chief executive until Mr McNamara takes over.