Arc Inspirations has announced the appointment of Lee Woolley as people & culture director, supporting the premium bar operator’s commitment to driving a people-first culture with training and development at the heart of its business.
Woolley will join the Martin Wolstencroft-led business in January, bringing over 30 years of experience within the hospitality industry.
Woolley began his career as a chef and progressed to general manager at Scottish & Newcastle Retail before transitioning to HR. He has held a number of senior HR and people roles at businesses such as Stonegate, Mitchells & Butlers, and Spirit Group.
Most recently, he served as director of learning & organisation development at Stonegate Group, a position he held for over 13 years.
Woolley’s role will focus on the development of teams across the business, helping harness talent as well as drive development programmes to support team members with their personal and career progression.
Arc Inspirations currently operates 19 premium bars across the Midlands and North of England, under the Box, Manahatta, and Banyan Bar & Kitchen brands. It poted record revenues for its most recent financial year and plans to open at least four sites in the next 12 months, with the longer-term ambition of opening 50 sites by 2030.
Arc Inspirations co-founder and CEO Martin Wolstencroft commented: “We’re thrilled to have Lee come onboard and join the Arc family. He embodies the passion and values we have here at Arc and brings with him a unique wealth of knowledge and experience which will be invaluable as we take our business into the next phase of its growth and development. Our success is truly down to the incredible hard work and dedication of our people and we are delighted to have Lee involved to drive this further in the months ahead.”
Woolley said: “I’m delighted to be joining the wonderful Arc team and to build on what’s already a great culture. Martin and the team have created a truly inspirational business with a winning culture and passion that I’m excited to be a part of. Arc offers fantastic training, rewards and incentives to people across all levels and everyone get involved in team development, which makes it stand out from the rest. I’m excited to bring my experience in to help people make a career for themselves within this fantastic industry, and at a wonderful business like Arc Inspirations.”
