From working at his step father’s catering business at 16 to pursuing a career in hospitality management, Michael Locke, National business Development Manager at Bunzl Australia and New Zealand, sat down with us to discuss his professional development thus far – and the growing trends he’s noticed when it comes to hotels and hospitality establishments.
Tell us how you came to Bunzl.
I’m a newcomer to Bunzl having begun with the business in July 2022. However, prior to my role here, I worked in the Food Distribution and the Accommodation sector for over 10 years in management.
I’ve worked in the hospitality sector since I was 16 and working with my step father’s successful catering business based in Melbourne – so this has been a large part of my life for many years now.
One of the things I appreciate the most about my role is that I get to work with some of Australia’s (and the world’s) biggest hospitality businesses. From working with them I’ve begun learning their operation models and practices and had the chance to meet people within these large-scale businesses and ultimately help them achieve their goals through what Bunzl has to offer and provide.
Is there anything you’ve sound surprising since beginning your role?
Not sure if this is “surprising” but in being new to Bunzl I’ve found that the wealth of knowledge and help from all our teams is amazing. From the category team, operations and warehouse, customer service, marketing and even through to finance there is no shortage of people within Bunzl willing to work together to help our customers achieve their goals.
What do you find yourself focusing most on in your position?
The most important part of my role is being able to effectively communicate with my customers to ensure that I’m not only providing them with solutions, but also helping to reduce pain points across their entire business where I can. A lot of my customers consider me as a trusted advisor and with my experience and role I want to help them create better efficiencies.
What is a major highlight in your career?
Some of the major highlights of my career so far is being named Employee of the Year and Office Worker of the Year from previous a previous employer. Being recognised by your peers is certainly valuable recognition and appreciated.
Being named Runner Up in Best Budget Accommodation in RACV Victorian Tourism Awards was another highlight of my career for the sheer amount of work the team put in to make it happen in what’s considered a very competitive market.
Have you noticed any trends in your industry that you’re excited about?
What I’m seeing a lot is the emergence of using AI within hotels and hospitality establishments. From housekeeping and cleaning to robot waiters for services. there are some really exciting changes across the hospitality industry when it comes to developing technologies and the possible efficiencies and labour-saving costs that they can create for a business.
In addition, the bulk amenities for the guest rooms and removal of all single bottles across hotels and accommodations has been exciting to see from a sustainability point of view. Being part of Bunzl and helping our customers navigate these changes has been a large focus recently. It’s meant assisting hotel chains with the sourcing and roll out of better alternatives across – sometimes hundreds – of sites, which has been both a challenge and rewarding. By working on large projects like this we know that we’re heading towards a more sustainable future with the benefits these changes will provide the environment.
