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Hospitality Leadership & People Development Training
Catalyst helps hospitality teams grow confident leaders, stronger cultures and better performance.
We are the training division of Sixty Eight People, built from years of working closely with hospitality leaders and teams. We understand the pressures of industry - and design training that actually sticks.
Meet our
Founder & MD
In 2021, Abi Dunn and Charlotte Kemp joined forces to evolve Sixty Eight People beyond traditional hospitality recruitment - building a hospitality consultancy rooted in leadership development, people strategy and long-term talent retention.
Their shared belief is simple: sustainable hospitality growth depends on attracting new talent, retaining high-performing teams and developing commercially sharp, people-first leaders at every level.
By blending operational leadership experience with specialist recruitment expertise and practical hospitality training, Abi and Charlotte have shaped Catalyst into a proactive people consultancy - helping operators scale, strengthen culture and future-proof their leadership pipeline.
Founder
Abi Dunn
Abi is the Founder of Sixty Eight People, with over 20 years’ experience in hospitality recruitment, leadership development and training.
Her background includes senior roles as Recruitment and Training Manager for Revolution Bars and Divisional Recruitment Manager across hospitality and catering, where she specialised in talent strategy, leadership hiring and building high-performing teams.
Abi founded Sixty Eight People to change how the industry attracts, develops and retains hospitality leaders - shaping Catalyst’s practical, people-first approach to hospitality recruitment and leadership training.
Managing Director
Charlotte Kemp
Charlotte is a former COO and People Director at Mission Mars, the award-winning Manchester hospitality group behind Albert’s Schloss and Rudy’s Neapolitan Pizza.
With executive experience across multi-site operations, people strategy and leadership development, Charlotte understands the real pressures of scaling a variety of hospitality brands.
Having led senior recruitment, built high-performing teams and driven culture at pace, she brings practical, commercially sharp insight to Catalyst’s straight-talking approach to hospitality leadership training.
Meet our
Coaches.
Getting the right trainer we know is half the battle for operators. Someone who feels connected and knowledgeable around current operational challenges, not someone who last ran a shift 25 years ago. Our coaches are handpicked from world class operators. Not only can they connect easily with young managers, they offer real industry credibility and can both inspire and develop others with ease.
Head Coach
Cally Bannon-Smith
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Cally leads the team and is a powerhouse trainer. A hospitality lifer from Living Ventures, she excels at diagnosing challenges and resolving them with ease. Her calm, innovative approach allows her to run sessions for everyone from assistant managers to board directors.
Coach
Summerleigh Watson
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Summerleigh joined us from Mission Mars, where she led training for Alberts Schloss. A natural trainer, her caring, curious, and challenging approach leaves delegates wanting more. Recently, she’s combined her love of digital content with coaching others, helping us support even more operators - and yes, we think she’s a bit of an L&D nerd.
Coach
Cassie Ruthven
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A qualified leadership coach, Cassie joined us from The Alchemist in 2024. With experience creating L&D strategies for both team members and management, she understands delegates’ challenges firsthand. Direct, empathetic, and resilient, Cassie sparks light-bulb moments and thrives on developing others - we’re lucky to have her on the squad.
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Who we've supported
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