This is part of the firm’s aim to strengthen its attraction, engagement, retention and development of its team members. Brown will work mainly within Brakspear’s 10-strong Honeycomb Houses managed estate.
The new head of people has previously worked in a variety of HR and people development roles across retail and hospitality.
Brakspear chief executive Tom Davies said: “We are delighted to welcome Simone to the Brakspear family and confident her experience and skills will be an enormous asset to us.
Strategically important
He added: “Our pubs are nothing without the people who work in them, so this new role is a strategically important one for us.
“The Honeycomb Houses’ ethos of ‘Our Home, Your Home’ relies on team members to live and breathe it.
“Simone will play a vital role in helping to recruit the right people, instilling the Honeycomb values and creating an environment where our team members provide the outstanding customer service that puts our pubs ahead of the competition.”
Brown will work on all aspects of attraction, engaging, retention and development, liaising with colleagues in training, operations and marketing, at both head office and pub level.
Great opportunity
On the new appointment, Brown said: “Moving to Brakspear is a great opportunity. Honeycomb Houses are wonderful pubs run by talented GMs and teams and I’m looking forward to helping to further embed the ‘Our House, Your Home’ culture so every team member is reaching their potential and our pubs are delivering the best experience to every customer on every visit.”
Furthermore, John Gormally is also joining Honeycomb Houses as interim operations director, covering maternity leave.
Gormally’s previous experience included Pitcher & Piano and the Revere Pub Group, the new role will look after the Cotswolds pub estate.
Last year (October), Brakspear announced it was launching an initiative called ‘Brakspear’s Giving Back’, which aims to support worthy causes chosen by its 120 pubs through a fund-matching scheme and increase its efforts to protect the nation’s bee population.
