James Stradling, Senior HSE Manager South & Restaurant Associates
James’s career journey started with a hospitality management apprenticeship at Compass Group in the late 1990s which saw him spending time in various operational and chef roles.
This is when he developed a keen interest in food hygiene and health and safety science which led him to successfully securing a traineeship sponsored by The Association of London Environmental Health Managers (ALEM). James went on to spend 12 years working for various local authority environmental health departments in London, regulating and advising a broad spectrum of businesses and members of public on matters relating to food safety, food standards, composition and labelling, health & safety, licencing, environment and public health. During this time, James also joined The Food Standards Agency taskforce during the London 2012 Olympics and policy steering group for The Food Hygiene Rating scheme.
Upon leaving local authority, James spent over 5 years heading up food safety and health & safety for two luxury hotel groups and an international restaurant group working with a range of celebrity chefs before returning to Compass Group in 2024.
James is qualified in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice and a member of The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. He also holds the NEBOSH Certificates in Occupational Health & Safety, Fire Safety and Construction Safety
In his spare time James loves to travel, attend music concerts and is a self-confessed foodie, he also volunteers for housing campaign groups.
Contact Email: James.Stradling@compass-group.co.uk
Contact Number: 07386 692822
Ivan Blasco - National HSE Manager - RA Venues and Rapport
Ivan started with Compass Group in 2010 as a Head Chef within Restaurant Associates after over 10 years working as a Chef within Spain and the UK. He then moved to Levy Restaurants to continue as a Head Chef at Liberty Store where he started to support the HSE team as a H&S Champion as his passion for H&S grew.
Ivan then moved into his first H&S Manager role at Somerset House where he worked for over 3 years and during this time, he completed the NEBOSH certificate. After his time at Levy he returned to Restaurant Associates family and worked on big contracts such as Morgan Stanley and KPMG as the H&S Manager overseeing several sites nationally while completing the NEBOSH diploma.
in his spare time, he loves travelling with his husband discovering new places, meeting friends and eating out.
Contact Email: ivan.blasco@compass-group.co.uk
Contact Number: 07471 504649
Graham Pankhurst - Citigroup Project and Compliance Manager
Graham has over 35 years' experience in the catering industry. Born is Africa and with a degree in Hotel Management he moved to the United Kingdom after a period of travelling the world and started a career in contract catering. Having general managed various contracts, covid arrived his contract at the time closed and he was made redundant.
There followed a period of redefining his career, where he tried various jobs: cold calling for a solar panel maintenance company (only lasted a few days), SIA security guarding (lasted even less) and a much longer period working on a building site.
Luckily post Covid, Restaurant Associates called, and he rejoined the company on contract, remobilising several contracts and helping with management support. In 2023 he joined Citi contract on a permanent basis as Project Manager for the digital rollout and subsequently took on the roles of HSE compliance and vetting manager as well.
Contact Email: graham.pankhurst@compass-group.co.uk
Contact Number: 07761 502441
Jennifer Wood - EHS Manager - Google
Jennifer joined Compass in December 2024 as the EHS Manager for the UK&I @ Google, bringing over 29 years of experience in hospitality and retail, with 19 years dedicated to specialist EHS Management. Her expertise lies in cultivating positive health and safety cultures across diverse brands and regulatory environments. Those brancs have included Hilton, Novotel, Ibis (Accor), Soho House Festival, Dirty Burger, Chicken Shop, Pizza East, Electric Cinema, Cowshed, Soho Works (Soho House) and Ted Baker.
Beyond her professional life she will usually be found in a kitchen, garden or on her family's farm. Jennifer actively embraces the "field to fork" philosophy.
Contact Email: jennifer.wood@xwf.google.com
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Natalie Rodner - HSE Manager - Deloitte LLP
Natalie joined Compass Group in December 2024. She has over 20 years experience in the food and hospitality sector. Early in her career she held event management roles in luxury hotels which then lead to her founding a successful children's food company delivering bespoke meals to nurseries and parents.
Over the past 4 years Natalie has worked as a Senior Food Safety and Brands Standard Auditor at Ecolab here she conducted audits supporting high profile QSR brands maintain their safety and quality standards, provided training, and consulted on best practices in food safety, health, and hygiene.
Natalie's qualifications include an MSc in Environmental Health as well as IOSH Health and Safety, Lead Auditor training and a certificate in childhood nutrition.
Contact Email: nrodner@deloitte.co.uk
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Simona Acaru - National H&S Manager KPMG
My careers at Compass began in 2021 at the National HSE and Compliance Lead at Deloitte, overseeing all units across the UK and Northern Ireland in all aspects of HSE and supporting the Net Zero journey alongside the RA Managers.
Simultaneously with my Deloitte contract, in 2022, i also joined the Levy family, supporting the HSE Levy team during large sporting events at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Most recently, in 2024, I took on a new role as National Health & Safety Manager at KPMG, overseeing all sites in London and across the UK.
My dedication to Health & Safety has been recongised in my career at Compass notably when I received the Restaurant Associates UK Be a Star Award for Commitment to HSE in 2022. In addition to my NEBOSH and BRCGS qualifications, I bring a background in design engineering for steel construction, where I developed a keen attention to detail and a commitment to delivering all projects to the highest standards.
Outside of work, I most enjoy spending time with my family and engaging in outdoor activities as much as possible.
Contact Email: simona.acaru@kpmg.co.uk
Contact Number: 07860 316537
Elzbieta Szewczyk - HSE Manager - Morgan Stanley
Ela has worked for Compass since 2018, starting her journey with the company as Staff Dining Manager at Blackrock, after 18 years of working in food industry.
In 2019 she joined the team at City to support colleagues in UK and Ireland in HSE and HR areas as Operation Support Manager.
After productive five years at Citi, she moved into HSE Manager role for Morgan Stanley contract.
In her spare time Ela loves reading, visiting art galleries, and travelling, exploring new places and cultures.
Contact Email: elzbieta.szewczyk@morganstandley.com
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