The Wolseley Hospitality Group hires Laura Mills from The Ivy Collection as managing director

The Wolseley Hospitality Group has named Laura Mills as managing director, Restaurant Online reports. She spent more than nine years at The Ivy Collection, working up from area manager to managing director. Before that she was operations director at Manchester's Living Ventures Restaurants.

The business she joins - Founded as Corbin & King by Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, who opened The Wolseley on Piccadilly in 2003 - Minor International held 74% from 2017, took full control in April 2022 after a long ownership fight that saw King leave, and renamed the group later that year - Its London restaurants include The Wolseley, The Wolseley City, The Delaunay, Brasserie Zédel, Colbert, Fischer's, Bellanger, Soutine and Manzi's

Her brief, in her words The group says she brings almost 15 years of senior leadership, with a focus on developing teams and keeping long-serving leaders. Mills said her focus was to protect what makes the restaurants special and "look after the people who bring them to life every day".

What it means for operators: another senior hire built on an area-manager-to-MD career inside a large branded group. For heritage brands, people and retention are now the pitch from the top job.