Tim Hulme said he wanted the BII to become the equivalent of a chartered institute for the pub trade and hoped to link levels of membership to qualifications handed down.
At the BII annual general meeting at London's Grosvenor House this morning Hulme unveiled a brand relaunch, new benefits for members and a vision for future growth.
An executive board of eight will be created with four advisory groups underneath it focussing on membership; qualifications; finance & general purposes and Scotland.
Last week’s accounts showed membership down by 12% for the second year and Hulme said the body needed to improve on retention rates of around 15% going into the second year. He laid out a target of growing from the current level of 9,318 members to 13,000 within three years and 15,000 within five.
Revamp
Speaking before the AGM he told the PMA: “When I took on this job I used the terms elitist and complacent. Looking back I was actually underestimating the situation. We had to sit down and look at every single aspect of the BII – the structure, the constitution, the finances.”
Hulme said revamping the membership structure of the BII would be “phase two” of his project – with an aspiration to have different levels based on accreditation.
He said: “The end game is to establish a qualification that everyone can aspire to in the way you have for accountants, surveyors etc. That could be done through membership of an institute. That’s not something we can do alone and we are in talks with the Institute of Hospitality about an informal merger on this.
“Historically BII membership has been unlike any other professional body. To make that membership really serious it needs to be backed up by a rigorous qualification.
“There is a lot of work to do but I would be disappointed if we didn’t achieve something on this in the next two years.”
Apprenticeships
Other targets for the BII include upgrading its apprenticeships programme, including establishing a pub chef offering – something Hulme called “an industry first”.
Hulme said the aim of improving member benefits had been boosted by changing procurement provider from Pelican to IPA, opening up a range of discounts on everything from food and drink supply to credit card services, insurance and energy supply.
He said planning permission had recently been granted to convert the first and second floors of the BII’s Camberley headquarters into flats, and he was now looking at sites in London.
Last week also saw Tom Richardson appointed interim chairman. Richardson, who has headed up the London branch for the last six years, is expected to serve in the role until the end of the year. Hulme said the hunt was on for a permanent replacement to Bernard Brindley, who would “certainly not” be from within the BII.