Event Timings

3.00 pm	Arrival and networking
3.45 pm	Welcome
3.50 pm	The Conversations That Help People Grow – hosted panel with Robbie Laidlaw, Ken Love and Janene Pretorius
4.40 pm	Opening Doors into Hospitality – Rio Compass and Change Please participant
5.00 pm	Audience Q&A
5.10 pm	Informal networking
6.00 pm	Event close

The Event

Sometimes one conversation can change the way you think about your career, your business or the industry around you.

At our next Arena Futures event, we'll explore the relationships, experiences and conversations that have helped some of hospitality and foodservice's leaders develop - from the people who gave them confidence and shared their knowledge, to the connections that helped them understand the industry beyond their own role.

We'll also look at the other side of that relationship: as our own careers develop, how can we use our experience, networks and influence to create opportunities for other people?

Through two hosted panel conversations, we'll hear from industry leaders about the experiences that have shaped the way they work and lead today, before hearing directly from people whose journeys into hospitality demonstrate the impact that access, support and employment opportunities can have.

Our speakers

Robbie Laidlaw, Managing Director, Thomas Franks

Robbie joined Thomas Franks as Managing Director in January 2026, bringing extensive commercial leadership experience and a passion for employability, culture and personal development.

Previously spending eight years at Genuine Dining, Robbie became a well-known figure within the sector and was named Salesperson of the Year at the 2024 Foodservice Cateys. Alongside his commercial career, he has a strong commitment to social value and the role businesses and leaders can play in helping people build meaningful careers.

Ken Love, Managing Director, Change Please

Ken leads Change Please, the B Corp social enterprise using coffee to help tackle homelessness, with the profit from every cup supporting its work.

Named UK Social Enterprise of the Year 2025, Change Please supported more than 1,800 people during 2025–26 through its employability programmes and Driving for Change primary care outreach initiative. Ken brings 15 years of experience in the coffee industry prior to joining Change Please, including senior roles at Matthew Algie and Tchibo.

Janene Pretorius, Hospitality People & Culture Leader

Janene has built her career in hospitality from the frontline up, starting in restaurants at 16 before moving into people and development roles. Her career has since included senior leadership positions at Gaucho, Prezzo, The Ivy Collection, Caprice Holdings, Bill’s Restaurants, The Wolseley Hospitality Group and F1 Arcade.

Having experienced first-hand the opportunities a career in hospitality can create, Janene is passionate about building inclusive, high-performing teams and helping others recognise the opportunities available within the industry.

Opening doors into hospitality

We'll be bringing our theme to life with a second panel conversation too, hearing from people who have experienced first-hand the difference that access, support and employment opportunities can make.

Rio Compass, De Vere Hotels / Only A Pavement Away

After spending several years volunteering with mental health charity Mosaic Clubhouse, Rio has recently taken his first steps into the hospitality industry and now works as a Food & Beverage Assistant with De Vere Hotels.

Rio also supports events for Only A Pavement Away, the charity helping people rebuild their lives through employment opportunities in hospitality, and has begun sharing his own experiences through motivational speaking to encourage others to recognise what they have to offer the industry.

Change Please programme participant – to be announced

We'll also hear directly from someone supported by Change Please about their own route into employment and the difference that opportunity can make.

The conversation will explore:

The relationships and experiences that have helped our speakers develop throughout their careers

How building a strong industry network can broaden your knowledge, confidence and commercial awareness

How to build meaningful relationships that create value for you and the business you represent

How people at every career stage can share their knowledge, connections and influence to create opportunities for others

There will also be plenty of time to connect with people from across the industry, to develop your own network and to ask questions of our speakers.

Come ready for honest stories, practical advice and plenty of opportunity to build relationships across hospitality and foodservice. Leave with a broader network, a better understanding of the industry around you and ideas you can take back into your own role and organisation.