Portico is delighted to announce a series of leadership promotions and appointments, further strengthening the business as it continues to invest in its people, clients and long-term growth strategy.

The appointments reflect Portico’s commitment to developing talent from within while bringing fresh perspectives, wider industry experience and new expertise into the organisation. Together, they reinforce the business’s ambition to deliver exceptional client outcomes, drive innovation and support sustainable growth.

Internal Promotions to Director Roles

At the heart of these announcements, alongside the recent promotion of Oliver Hiner to Regional Director, Portico is proud to confirm the promotions of Abbie Smith, Jo Lovegrove and Toni Cuschieri to Director roles within its Client Services leadership team. Working in close partnership with Portico’s Business Development function, they join a strengthened commercial leadership team that includes Richard O’Keefe in his enhanced role as Director of Strategy and Client Solutions and John Danby as Head of Client Partnerships. Collectively, these promotions represent more than 40 years of Portico experience, reflecting the depth of talent, expertise and commitment within the business. They recognise exceptional leaders who have delivered significant value for clients, supported the development of colleagues and played an important role in Portico’s continued success.

Three Strategic External Appointments

Portico’s operational and commercial teams will also be strengthened through three strategic external appointments: Brenda Bellingan joins as Workplace Excellence Director, Sean Feesey as Commercial Director and Richard Owen as Head of Operational Resourcing.

Brenda will lead Portico’s Workplace Excellence agenda, focusing on service excellence, quality assurance, innovation and the development of market-leading tools and solutions that deliver consistently outstanding experiences across the client portfolio.

Sean will lead on product and client development, helping to shape service innovation while supporting account progression, retention and long-term client success.

Together, Brenda and Sean bring extensive industry expertise and leadership experience, further strengthening Portico’s ability to develop innovative, commercially sustainable solutions that create value for both existing and prospective clients.

Richard, who returned to Portico earlier this year, will lead the company’s talent management and resourcing strategy, supporting Portico’s ambition to remain an employer of choice and a market leader in attracting, developing and retaining exceptional talent.

A Message from Matt Bowers, Managing Director

Matt Bowers, Managing Director of Portico, said:

“I am so proud of Portico’s strong legacy, with so many incredible stories dating back to our market launch in 2004, the brand is well established as the longest running in the Guest Services industry. To build further on this successful heritage and success I am incredibly excited about the leadership team we have appointed and, importantly, what it means for our people and our clients.

We have some exceptional talent within our business, and I am particularly passionate around creating genuine opportunities for our people to progress into senior leadership positions. These promotions demonstrate the strength of our culture, our commitment to developing talent and the opportunities available to those who build their careers with Portico.

At the same time, bringing in experienced leaders from across our industry strengthens our perspective, broadens our capabilities and supports our ambition to continue delivering exceptional outcomes for our clients. Together, these appointments create a leadership team that combines deep Portico expertise with fresh thinking, positioning us strongly for the next phase of our growth.

Our ambition remains clear: to continue to be a truly client-first, solutions-focused business, with Guest Services at the heart of what we deliver.

 By combining exceptional operational expertise, outstanding people, innovation, insight and best-in-class technology, we will continue to enhance the experiences and solutions we provide for our clients.

 This leadership team gives us an incredibly strong platform for the future. It strengthens our ability to stay close to our clients and continue the great work we already do, develop our people, innovate at pace and deliver against our ambitious plans for sustainable growth.”

Oliver Hiner Welcomes the New Team

Oliver Hiner, Regional Director, added:

“I am really excited to be working alongside our new colleagues and to see some fantastic talent progressing from within our business. These promotions are thoroughly deserved and are a great reflection of the depth and quality of talent we have across Portico.

I am looking forward to working together as one team, sharing ideas, continuously raising standards and delivering exceptional experiences for our clients. Congratulations to everyone on these well-deserved achievements.”