Richard Bull - 'How I got here'
Richard Bull - 'How I got here' (Caterer & Hotelkeeper 08.04.04)
Richard Bull is IT Manager for contract catering Wilson Storey Halliday, and one of his rewards for 
years of hard work is about to arrive on his driveway in the shiny metallic form of a new Mini Cooper.
It's a far cry from Saturday job washing up in the Army & Navy store in Camberley Surrey. For some reason, the chef there took a shine to Richard and encouraged him to get involved.
All things start somewhere, and having a go at making teacakes was enough to spur the youngster on. Richard went on to undertake formal hospitality and catering training at Reading College of Technology. A career in contract catering followed, with employers such as Taylor Plan Catering in Richmond upon Thames and William Ellis in Camberley.
Between November 1987 and March 1990 Richard even dipped his toe in the waters of event management as an operations manager at Emperor Events, based in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
After this, Richard worked for Halliday Catering as a consultant, thanks partly to a relationship he had built up with the late owner, George Halliday, while working at contract caterers Hall Ellison in the 1980s. The workload grew as the company did, and Richard bowed to the inevitable and became a full-time operations manager in November 1992.
The company merged with Wilson Storey in 2001, forming Wilson Storey Halliday and presenting the operations manager with a rare chance to switch career and indulge another passion. The combination of the two companies meant an IT Manager was sorely needed, and Richard's interest and ability in the area meant he was the obvious candidate.
"My background in the industry has certainly helped me to develop effective systems and software since then" says Richard. "I did think I might be under less pressure working on IT, but that didn't prove to be entirely true. I do, however, still get out and about three times a week, and the work is always varied".
Responsibilities include managing networks, the company website, staff intranet and all of the company's back-office systems.
One change Richard says he has had to get used to is the need to react to problems immediately, for example, if the company's systems go down, which means that timetabling his day in meticulous detail rarely works. "One thing I've learnt is the importance of building good relationships with clients and customers [staff], as it helps you solve a lot of your problems."