Hawthorn, the Community Pub Company, has announced that Matt Ward will step down as Chief Financial Officer on 31 January 2022.
Since joining the company in April 2016, Ward has been at the forefront of driving the Hawthorn business forward and responsible for establishing Hawthorn’s highly regarded platform and team.
Ward played a key role in the sale of Hawthorn Leisure to NewRiver in May 2018 and subsequently the decision to explore an IPO, which culminated in Hawthorn being sold to Admiral Taverns in August 2021.
Ward said, “It has been an absolute privilege to serve as Chief Financial Officer for Hawthorn. My time with Hawthorn has been one of the most exciting, rewarding and fulfilling periods of my career and we have built a highly successful and reputable pub business.
'The amount of progress made in such a short period of time has been immense and this has been down to the talent and dedication of our team. I will look back at my time with Hawthorn with pride and wish Chris and the team at Admiral all the very best as they lead the business into its next chapter.”
Mark Davies, former CEO of Hawthorn and Non-Executive Director of the BBPA, commented, “I’ve worked with Matt and known him for over 5 years and he’s a highly capable CFO who has done an outstanding job for Hawthorn. During our time working together Matt has achieved so much.
'Alongside helping create the 7th largest leased and tenanted pub company, Matt has played a key role in helping grow the business, building a brilliant team, several corporate transactions and integrations.
'He has been a huge part in preparing Hawthorn for IPO and helping deliver a very successful outcome on the sale to Admiral in August 2021. Matt is hard working, loyal, committed and very able, and I hope that he stays in the hospitality sector.”