We’re honoured that the Institute of Hospitality has recognised our dearly departed friend and treasured colleague Gregory De La Peña-Hall with a posthumous fellowship.

Gregory, who you all know sadly passed away earlier this year, was our director of equality, diversity and inclusivity. He was incredibly passionate about his role and left an incredible legacy in the company and the wider industry, dedicating much of his time to the well-being and inclusion of others.

Fellowship of the Institute of Hospitality is awarded only to the most senior members of the hospitality, leisure and tourism industries, recognising their importance, expertise, qualifications, work experience and career achievements.

Gregory was a hugely inspirational member of the #bmFamily, and despite being unwell for some time, he continued to share his passion not only for the people he worked with, but also did so much to help tackle many wider societal and workplace issues and was never afraid to stand up for his beliefs.

On 5th December at 3pm Robert Richardson, the Institute of Hospitality’s chief executive, personally presented Gregory’s fellowship in the form of a plaque to Gregory’s husband Joey.

Robert in making the presentation said,“Gregory was a huge inspiration to the IoH team and to me personally. He was passionate about the work he did for us on EDI and we have so much to thank him for. The work he did in helping us develop our EDI Future Forum and our award winning IoH Diversity Shield is just part of the legacy. And his memory also continues with our IoH Annual Award – The Gregory De La Peña-Hall, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion award, presented for the first time this year. So, it was an honour and privilege to award Gregory posthumous Fellowship of the Institute. We miss his positivity, enthusiasm for our industry and passion for his role. He is greatly missed by us all.”