He replaces Andy Kemp, group sales director of 3663 First for Foodservice who has held tenure for the last three years.

 

The official handover will be made at the Annual Arena Lecture on 19 February 2008.

Andy said: "Mat is extremely well known in the industry and has been a great vice chairman of Arena for the last two years, bringing new ideas and enthusiasm to the job. We are delighted he has agreed to take over as chairman."

Mat commented: "Under Andy's stewardship Arena has continued to go from strength to strength – we have organised sell-out networking events and have welcomed some of the top names in the industry as guest speakers. I am particularly looking forward to supporting our new director, Lorraine Wood and helping her and the team at Arena to deliver even bigger and better things!"

Although Andy is stepping down as chairman of Arena, he will continue to be part of the executive committee and involved with Bakedome, the holding company of Arena.