'No regrets' says outgoing Punch CEO

Having worked in the sector for more than 17 years, Chesser surprised everyone with the news that he was stepping down to take on a new leadership role with fast growing brand Pure Gym.

Joining a brand which is seen as something of a disruptor to the gym sector perhaps shouldn’t be as big a surprise, as Chesser himself has sought to be a disruptor for the pub sector during his time with Punch, successfully looking to innovate and change a business that for some had a challenging legacy.

Having started from the bottom, initially joining SSP/Compass Group as an operations manager looking after bars and off licences, Chesser joined the sector proper with his first role at Enterprise Inns, before moving to Greene King under Rooney Anand and working his way up to two managing director roles before joining the Punch team following the sale of a large chunk of its estate to Star Pubs & Bars.

He quickly got to grips with the business and has driven it to huge success, resetting relationships with tenants, steering the creation of new models and partnerships, and delivering a strong strategy that puts both pubs and people at the heart of the business.

And it’s the people aspect that is key - people are at the heart of what he loves about the pub sector: “It’s all about people for me, and I’d only do a job that had people at the heart of it, you get so much variety in pubs, and it’s a brilliant canvas for a career and I keep telling young people it’s a great career choice. I’ve loved almost every day of it, it’s given me so much.

“I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved at Punch, and I know that if I have a strength, if I have a skill, I’m good at getting good people around me and empowering them to do their job, coaching and mentoring and guiding them a bit, but I’ve been really lucky with the people I have around me.”

The low point of his career was unsurprisingly Covid, followed by the energy and cost of living crisis, which held the business back, coupled with his own personal illness challenge, but he points out, they came out the other side stronger, as did he.

And he says the changes wrought on the sector are here to stay: “I’ve spent a lot of time convincing people that this is now normal, we’re not living in an abnormal world. Pre-Covid, it wasn’t a perfect environment, and the challenges we’ve got now are very real and the costs of running business is much higher, but we are now opening in the new normal, this is it, and we’ve got to get our way through it.

“What I’ve seen from the trade is that every year pubs get better, better invested, better run, more innovation and service levels improve and it’s crucial we don’t let that drop.”

So as he makes the shift from pubs to gyms, Chesser is adamant the new job will not derail his love of pubs, and he aims to “live his life in balance” and adds: “I personally find beer tastes better when I’ve been for a run!”