Episode
#261 - Hospitality Meets Duncan Garrood - Putting Life in Your Years
- Published
- Jun 24, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 5380
- Processing state
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- https://www.hospitalitymeets.co.uk/
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Summary
What do a biochemist, a Chinese mansion house, Heathrow Airport, 250 burger restaurants, a pub turnaround, student accommodation, retirement living, and more than a few bottles of Mao Tai have in common? This week's guest... Duncan Garrood. And trust me... You're going to want to hear this one. Duncan's career began in a laboratory as a scientist with a PhD in Biochemistry. It then took him through Unilever, a decade living in China, Heathrow Airport, the Middle East, Punch Taverns, Bill's Restaurants, family entertainment, student accommodation, and now Riverstone Living. Most people spend a career trying to follow a plan. Duncan spent his, basically just saying yes. In this episode we chat about: Why a scientist decided business looked more interesting Being told on a Wednesday that he was moving to China on Sunday Living next door to 13 Chinese families in a former colonial mansion Putting Walls ice cream on the Great Wall of China The business lessons hidden inside industrial quantities of Mao Tai What airports can teach us about hospitality Why great service is often revealed when things go wrong Growing a business from $150 million to $1 billion Running out of cows whilst scaling Shake Shack Transforming Punch Taverns during one of the biggest shifts in pub legislation Reimagining Bill's Restaurants Using people, not capital, to drive growth in leisure Treating students like customers Why later living might be one of the most exciting sectors in hospitality today Along the way we explore leadership, customer experience, entrepreneurship, curiosity, reinvention, and the power of saying yes to opportunities before you're entirely sure how they'll work out. One of my favourite stories came from Duncan's time in China. After fifteen dinners with a potential business…