1st Apr 2011 - 00:00
Abstract
Robyn Jones, chief executive of CH&Co, was last night awarded the Lifetime Achievement accolade at the Women 1st 2011 Shine Awards, held at the Savoy Hotel and hosted by broadcaster Gaby Roslin.
Women 1st held the special event to honour outstanding female achievements in the UK's hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism (HLTT) industries and unveiled the inaugural Top 100 Most Influential Women listing. Jones told Cost Sector Catering: "It's awesome. I haven't quite got my blue rinse yet, because I always thought for a lifetime achievement award you had to have one of those. "But seriously, programmes like Women 1st are so important and I really hope our staff recognise that it's really down to them why I'm stood here now. "All of the awards over the 20 years that we've been going are down to them." Having started her career as a school dinner lady, Robyn Jones, who has previously been awarded an OBE, founded CH&Co with her husband Tim on a Government Enterprise Allowance in 1991. Within two years, and at the height of a recession, the company had won the Booker Prize for Excellence as Best Young Business and Best Caterer. The Shine Awards was told her determination, "endless enthusiasm" and vision to gain a reputation for improving food at work by providing exceptional eating experiences has paid off. CH&Co now has a multi-million pound turnover, employing almost 2,000 people, with 140 contracts nationwide. Jones is a patron of the Association of Catering Excellence and a trustee of the PM Trust. She is also a guardian member of the charity, Hospitality Action, a winner of a Catey Award and was named the Credit Suisse Most Outstanding Woman in Business, 2007. Last night's citation said she was described by colleagues as "concise, focussed and brave," and her story as "truly inspirational". As one nomination concluded, "it shows to all what can be achieved with true grit and determination from humble beginnings." The 2011 Women 1st Shine Award winners are as follows: * Outstanding Entrepreneur Award: Jillian MacLean, managing director, Drake & Morgan * Rising Star Award: Xoe Donovan, general manager, The Longford House Beefeater and Cannock South Premier Inn * Mentor of the Year Award: Lou Willcock, founder and director, IndiCater * Woman of the Year Award: Victoria Sanders, managing director, Teletext Holidays * Lifetime Achievement Award: Robyn Jones OBE, chief executive, CH&Co * Small Business Award: ABode Hotels * Large Business Award: Sodexo UK & Ireland The full Top 100 Most Influential Women list can be viewed at: www.people1st.co.uk/top100
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