Q: Tell us about your journey into the workplace experience world.

A: I’ve spent around 20 years in hospitality and workplace management, driven by a genuine passion for creating meaningful experiences. I trained as a professional actor, so performance has always been at the heart of what I do: being present, leading the experience, and understanding the impact you have on the people in front of you, this, coupled with my passion for quality hotels and restaurants has proven to be a winning formula!

For me, there’s a strong parallel between theatre and guest services experience. Whether you’re performing for one person or 500 spectators, every individual expects an outstanding performance. People pay a premium for a ticket whether it’s a matinee or an evening show, and they expect the standard to be consistently excellent. The same applies to guest services – every interaction matters. The challenge is how we bring that level of consistency into the workplace while still creating personal, memorable experiences for every visitor, end user and stakeholder.

Early in my career, I also worked on corporate training videos that were focused on behavioural and soft skills, which really shaped how I think about human connection and service delivery. This led to me joining a fantastic, boutique guest services and concierge business called arena21, where I truly embedded an experience-led mindset, blending it with a hotelier approach to service. That combination of performance, hospitality, and workplace experience has defined my journey ever since.

Q: Having been in the business for a short period, what are your first impressions of Portico?

A: I’ve always admired the Portico brand, so joining the business has been incredibly exciting. In my first three weeks, I’ve visited around 30 locations, and what’s been clear is just how connected Portico people are to their clients, to one another, and to the Portico values. Those were my first impressions coming into the business, and they’ve only grown stronger since.

Our people are genuinely happy, and that really stands out, I have been made to feel so welcome everywhere. Portico with Heart isn’t just a brand strapline, it’s lived every day. I’m obsessed with Portico’s Service with Heart brand proposition. This kind of human, emotionally intelligent service experience which you just cannot explain fully until you see it in action.

Q: What does Portico’s Service with Heart mean to you?

A: For me, Service with Heart is the core of what we do, our value proposition. It’s the ethical, living, beating heart of the organisation. Much like a heart muscle, it connects everything and supports the wider system. It means aligning with and supporting the values of our clients, partners, suppliers, our people, and the wider industry. It’s a rounded, holistic approach to service, the one that balances operational excellence with empathy, care, and genuine human connection.

Q: Culture vs process – what matters most?

A: Throughout my career, I’ve always focused on creating culture first. Culture brings people together, gives them purpose, and ultimately drives consistency in service delivery. In my previous role I launched a brand and concept that drove connectivity with people and clients through having an identity that rang true with the playbook of the business so it is interesting to come into a business that already has an established identity, but one that we can elevate further which is really exciting.

Processes matter, but they should enable culture in my view, not replace it. When culture is strong, everything else becomes easier. Workplaces play a vital role in bringing culture to life. They create belonging and connection, and when executed well can become a powerful extension of the organisation itself.

Q: Where do you see growth opportunities for Portico?

A: There’s significant opportunity for growth, both within the UK, Ireland and beyond.

There’s also opportunity in introducing additional service lines and continuing to integrate technology more deeply into what we do. I see tech and AI as core enablers of our processes and tools, to supplement our great people skills to be accelerators of excellence. When used well, technology can enable consistency, maximise time and allow our people to focus on what really matters: the human experience which ultimately provides efficiency for our clients. Our business is client driven, creating value, evolving to needs and growth and being an agile partner.

Q: What does innovation in guest services mean to you?

A: For me, innovation starts with our people. The question is how can technology enable our people to continue being outstanding workplace delivery experts while also becoming true experience leads?

For our industry, recruitment and training are vital, and we need to explore smarter ways that AI can make this easier and more effective. There’s also a huge opportunity for guest services specialists to help train and develop colleagues across soft and hard FM, to deliver a seamless, integrated service for our clients, something I have overseen and driven in all FM service lines across my career in the industry, so I hope to add additional value in this area.

A lot of this comes down to behaviour: how we present ourselves, communicate, and collaborate. AI-enabled tools will help us improve consistency of service, learning, and performance, and ultimately allow us to move into new territories and markets.

Q: There’s a lot of discussion about how service delivery is measured. What do you measure?

A: I always say you’re only as good as the next day. What really matters is how you evolve in a rapidly changing market, especially as client priorities shift. When you win a new client opportunity the focus switches to retention straight away in my mind, it is striving to go one better.  It’s about continually developing our core Service with Heart proposition and finding ways to leverage it further.

I don’t ever see negative feedback as a disaster, I see it as constructive. In fact, I prefer the constructive to the positive at times, because it enables you be better next time. Perfection is hard to achieve in any business, but you can get close to it – be listening, learning and engaging – feedback is the most powerful tool for this. I learnt through my career not to take things personally, but to embrace it, as hard as it can be at times.

This is an open challenge for all of us: how do we get better every single day? That mindset is far more important than any single metric.

Q: What is your view on the future of the workplace?

A: I’ve been involved with workplace fit-outs and launches over the years, and I believe the future is in creating more home-centric environments, how do we earn that commute.

Since Covid, people are looking for workplaces that are more human – spaces with choice and variety. Different room types, collaborative areas, focus spaces, soft furnishings, greenery, and flexible layouts all contribute to productivity – plus the biggest enabler of happiness being food quality and variety. For me and from speaking to colleagues and clients in the industry over the years it does ring true.

A friend of mine recently started a new role and came home after her first day saying the office was brilliant: the service was seamless, the catering was amazing, and the technology genuinely supported their working day. That’s exactly the type of experience we want to help create for our clients.

Q: Remote working or in-person?

A: For me, it’s always in-person. Face-to-face interaction, when everyone is together, is where you get the most energy, creativity, and productivity. I’m a firm believer that face-to-face interaction remains essential for creativity, strategy and problem-solving. Remote working has a core value also and there are times where it is highly productive, but nothing beats that human interaction, we saw that during Covid, there is a different energy when workplaces are thriving.

Quick-fire Questions with Matt

Q: City or countryside?
A: Countryside. I was born in Bristol and lived in a lovely seaside town called Clevedon in North Somerset with the most iconic Victorian Pier. I spent a lot of time growing up on my grandparents’ dairy farm in Devon during summer holidays, in a village called Woodbury Salterton. It was a real sense of community with the local butcher, milk tanker, baker regularly popping in for a tea and chat. That real sense of belonging, care, people knowing each other and doing things together has been fundamental to who I am. Because of this I also have a real passion for how businesses and suppliers are supported and local produce. The field to fork analogy is something I have experienced from a young age.

I now live in a village in Essex and have spent more of my life in London and Essex than I ever did in Bristol, but that sense of community is still really important to me.

Q: Going out or staying in?
A: Going out. I’m a real people person – meeting our teams, our clients, and spending time connecting with others genuinely feeds my energy. I’ve got two young boys, aged seven and nine, so weekends are mostly football practice and play dates along with supporting my football club across the country where possible.

Q: Pub or theatre?
A: That’s a tough one. I trained as an actor, so I’d have to go hybrid and say a theatre bar, combining the buzz and social energy of a pub with the magic of a theatrical performance.

Q: Pantomime or tragedy?
A: I’ve performed in both and I absolutely love pantomime, but my true passion is classical drama, particularly Shakespeare. But I do enjoy having fun and humour plays a key part of that, so perhaps really comedy is my number one preference!

Thank you Matt, anything else you would like to add?

Just to say I haven’t stopped smiling during our session today because I am genuinely thrilled to be here, surrounded by great colleagues who want to make a difference. It has been less than a month but I already feel part of the Portico family and we are only just getting started!