Prior to joining M&B in 2015, Urban worked for Whitbread and other pubs and bars businesses, and has plenty of sage advice for others as he reflects on his career so far.
He has few regrets in life but admits fortune has been in his favour throughout the years.
“I rarely regret things in life and I buy into the old adage of ‘what’s for you, won’t go by you’,” Urban states.
“I have been very lucky in my career and have mainly fallen into things that have always turned out to be good.
“However, I once chose one job over another due to it having slightly more salary and a better job title.
“My advice to anyone is never do that. Base decisions on how you ‘feel’ about the person/people you will be working with and for and, of course, on what you are expected to do.”
Urban, who predicts a tough couple of years for the sector, reveals his early work life started on Trusthouse Forte Hotels’ finance graduate programme in the mid-1980s and he took Cost & Management Accountancy exams, “not because I wanted to be an accountant but because they paid slightly more than the ops graduates got”.
He also worked for Ladbrokes Group and Lloyds Bank before joining Grand Metropolitan in its Clifton Inns pub business.
After several reorganisations, and a takeover by Scottish & Newcastle and then Spirit Group, Urban moved to Whitbread, then Rank Group, before joining Mitchells & Butlers almost 10 years ago.
The responsibility of knowing that more than 40,000 colleagues were relying on my CFO Tim Jones and I, to find a solution.
Phil Urban
Again, he states luck has been involved in his career, including “being in the right place at the right time” but confesses that is not particularly helpful in helping someone else who is starting out in their career.
He adds: “What I would say is do something you love doing; work with people you like and enjoy working with; lose any ego you may have and treat everyone at all levels of your business with respect and integrity (we are all on the same team); never stop having a thirst for learning and work hard.
“Do those things and you will be happy, and if you are happy, you will be the best version of yourself and progression will follow.
“I have been fortunate to have many highlights because I have been lucky to work for, and with, some great people over the years.
“However, at Scottish & Newcastle with my restaurants & accommodation team, at Rank with my Grosvenor Casino team and now at Mitchells & Butlers, I have been part of high-performing teams that smashed their targets, and that is always the thing I look back on with the most pleasure.
“Team success is always better than individual success.”
Horrible feeling of impotence
Equally, low points make the highs higher and Urban says the start of the first lockdown during Covid was such a time that included “a horrible feeling of not knowing whether we would have enough cash to survive”.
He explains: “Initially, we were too big to apply for the Government’s Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILs) and too small to qualify for the Bank of England’s support for the largest companies.
“That was a horrible feeling of impotence and yet the responsibility of knowing that more than 40,000 colleagues were relying on my CFO Tim Jones and I, to find a solution.”
Urban, who believes integrity, no ego and drive are the top three keys qualities a good leader should have, says excellent leadership is “creating the best environment that you can for each member of your team to perform to their optimum ability”.
Pressure is always close by for those at the top and he says it is people who cause it most for him.
“The hardest thing all leaders do is to forge and maintain a high-performing team and working out that it is down to us to adapt to each member in the team, as opposed to expecting them to adapt to you,” Urban reveals.
“So, pressure only occurs when there are people issues to resolve and when you are trying to find a compromise position all the team can get behind, without losing the value of whatever it is.”
Creating a new successful offer is very difficult and many fail so, when someone does it, I have nothing but respect for them.
Phil Urban
He admits that as with all the jobs he has had, he has always had a little bit of “imposter syndrome” and felt the role of CEO was one he may not be able to do. He adds: “Looking back, I am surprised that the ‘City’ and ‘external’ stuff that I have to do, is far more straightforward than I had imagined. Other than that, it is just a bigger version of what I have done before.”
Having a family means a balancing act is a must-do but he says: “Now that my kids are older, it is far easier but my wife and kids have always been supportive and are used to me constantly looking at work related things, 365 days a year.
“It is just the way I’m wired, so joining meetings while on holiday, is just expected now.
“That said, I have always been fortunate to be able to juggle my diary and therefore have been able to attend some of the parents’ evenings, plays and sporting fixtures over the years.”
To that end, outside work Urban helps coach an under-18s football team with kids from all walks of life and it helps him keep in touch with how people from various different backgrounds feel about life and its challenges.
Words of wisdom
He admits the day M&B stops understanding how guests are feeling, and what they are looking for, is the day the business stops being effective.
This leads into his philosophy on the potential for loneliness among leaders. He says: “It has been [lonely] at times but that is why you need great people in your team around you.
“It is only really lonely if your management style is autocratic or unwelcoming of challenge and input.
“My style isn’t like that (at least I don’t think it is) and therefore having people who you can bounce issues off or who are not afraid to tell you when you have got something wrong, helps alleviate any feeling of being alone.”
Finally, his gives words of wisdom to smaller hospitality businesses that want to grow.
“Creating a new successful offer is very difficult and many fail so, when someone does it, I have nothing but respect for them,” Urban says.
“If that is hard then scaling a business is even harder. Finding the right sites is time consuming and costly, and given the competitive nature of the market, sometimes impossible.
“My advice would be to never overstretch yourself, however eager you are to expand.
“Businesses don’t go bust for not making profit, they go bust due to running out of cash.
“Secondly, don’t take your eye off your existing business and remember this will also need investment to maintain what you have.
“Finally, be prepared and open to partnering with others because while that may dilute ownership, it will bring access to finance and ideas, and sometimes access to sites that otherwise would be out of reach.”
