A record number of nominations were considered for this year’s Pride of Greene King Awards, which were open to all 39,000 people who work in the business.
Greene King, which operates about 2,600 pubs and won the Publican Awards’ Best Pub Employer (501+ sites) category, enlisted the help of comedian and radio host Johnny Cochrane at The Tileyard North in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, attended by 200 Greene King team members while it was livestreamed to all employees.
Fantastic occasion
Greene King chief executive Nick Mackenzie said: “This is a fantastic occasion to celebrate our teams and shine the spotlight on some of the real stars of Greene King. The energy and passion our teams put into their daily jobs makes me really proud.
“Given the amazing quality of all our nominations and finalists, there were no easy decisions when it came to selecting the winners. It is great to see so many people embracing our culture, living our values, looking after our customers and communities, caring for our teams and building careers. There was definitely a lot of pride and celebration on the evening, and I’d like to thank and congratulate all our finalists.”
Winner of the Outstanding Contribution Award was head of food development, Jason Radbourn, who said: “I am a little shocked to be honest.
“This award is for the whole food development team really as I couldn’t do it without them. It’s great when you see dishes you create proving to be so popular on our pub menus. I’m lucky to be able to work with a great team as well as people from different backgrounds, to help develop and inspire the next generation of chefs.”
Other winners on the night included:
We Care Award: Peter Noble, Property Estates Manager (Central Functions)
Customer First Award: Sharon McDermott, General Manager at White Barn, Hungry Horse, Cuddington, Cheshire (Destination Brands)
Freedom to Succeed Award: Ranya Ball, Business Development Manager (Greene King Pubs)
We Take Ownership Award: Stuart Lloyd, Large Pack Manager (Brewing & Brands)
Win, Learn, Celebrate Together Award: Pub Partners Franchise Team (Partnerships & Ventures)
Pride Award: Sophie Burgess, Business Development Manager (Greene King Pubs)
Operational Excellence Award: Simeon Baker, Business Development Manager, Pub Partners South West region (Partnerships & Venture)
Customer Award: Callum Wilson, General Manager, The County, Gosforth (Greene King Pubs)
Financial Award: Pricing Optimisation Workstream team (Central functions)
People Award: Lynne Kennedy - Talent Development Manager, Apprenticeships, Employability team – People & Culture (Central Functions)
We Pour Happiness into Lives Award: Richard Johnson, General Manager at Plum Tree Farm, Farmhouse Inns, Blackpool (Destination Brands)
