THIBAULT BOUQUET DE JOLINIÈRE
CO-FOUNDER & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Thibault is a partner and co-founder of The Initiative. He is responsible for the company’s global growth strategy and continued expansion, he has a great reputation as a trusted expert in the hospitality sector.
Thibault is a leader in search of new trends and a pioneer of the new hospitality world.
His knack for innovative responses to client and market needs is backed by ten years of experience opening, working and managing some of the best restaurants globally.
As Thibault has been in London for the past ten years, he sees himself as a true Londoner. However, he misses the sun in the south of France, Nice, where he’s from. Whenever he goes back he likes to play golf and hang out at the beach with friends and family. Traveling is a large part of his life and he loves to discover new places and cultures.
ROMAIN RIBERA
CO-FOUNDER & FINANCE DIRECTOR
Since moving to London 10 years ago, Romain has worked his way up in the events industry with a main focus on marketing and project leadership. Culminating the position of Marketing & Corporate Director for a variety of famous bars and clubs.
Prior to starting “The Initiative,” Romain worked as the Project Director for Olivia Productions, a global entertainment booking agency and a family run business with more than 30 years of experience. The agency creates diverse and dynamic events all around the world including London, Paris, Barcelona, Seoul and Doha.
OPHELIE VILLAIN
SHAMAN OPERATION MANAGER
Ophelie graduated with MA in Marketing in her home city of Paris in 2019, and decided to spend a year in London to improve her English. She fell in love with the city, and she found the energy in the cultural clash of international community. To make her ends meet, she started working in Shaman Leman short after it’s opening, where she discovered her true passion for working with people in the ever-changing world of hospitality.
She has progressed really quickly, showing her dedication, great talent for people management, and now she overlooks our 5 Shaman sites in London as the Operations Manager.
HUGO RIBERA
HEAD OF MANAGEMENT
With the Head of Management position, Hugo oversees the Operations of our different locations. He is responsible for the smooth implementation and execution of the company’s strategic goals.
After graduating his MBA in Business & Management, Marketing & Supply Chain in Paris and developing a personal project in a lifestyle and clothing industry called GOODAY, Hugo moved to London. There he was in charge of managing the process, organisation and the new openings for different brands such as Bimba Y Lola or Ba&sh.
Optimisation and logistics are part of his core strengths and what he brings to any team. He carried these over to the F&B business by joining The Initiative in 2017, where he created a real customer service culture and was able to improve the guest experience even during the tough times during the 2020 lockdowns and pandemic.
ANDREA CHERIO
GROUP SALES & EVENT MANAGER
I believe that event planning is an artform.
I love to focus on the little details that make an event memorable. I love to curate events that leave guests reminiscent of the joyous times that they have had long after they’ve gone home. I am fluent in Spanish and Italian; allowing me to connect with a multitude of people and bring them together. My hospitality and entertainment event background has encouraged me to broaden my interests in and knowledge of the different sectors of sales and marketing. To me, it is important to never stop learning – I am ready for my next adventure with The Initiative Group.
NEKANE RUIZ
HR ADMINISTRATOR
Nekane, who moved to London from bustling Madrid, is half Belgian and half Spanish. She has been rocking the hospitality life for over a decade. Before she joined The Initiative, she was working in best bars of Madrid and London, perfecting her cocktail making skills and management style.
The passion for people and creating better work environment within hospitality, have prompted her for change of the professional career path and get involved in HR.
She is currently studying for her HR qualifications through the Charter Institute of Personnel Development.
ANEMONA KNUT
PEOPLE & CULTURE MANAGER
Anemona’s hospitality journey started 19 years ago in Sydney, where she went for her university gap year. She fell for the Giant Monster Lobsters and the eucalyptus notes in rich Shiraz. She came back to Warsaw to complete her Masters in Communications, but the future path was clear. Her career kicked off with Hyatt hotels and her transfer to Andaz Liverpool street started her London adventure. Here she gained her MBA in Hospitality Management. From Hyatt she moved on to join Dorchester Collection and she worked nearly 10 years in F&B Operations, from the flagship silver service The Grill, to opening of the iconic CUT in 45 Park Lane. She proved to be a passionate manager for people and organisational development and brought her skills to openings of new restaurants within Wolfgang Puck Fine dining Group.
Anemona joined The Initiative back in 2018 firstly as a consultant and now leads the People & Culture. Her main role is to bring all people of The Initiative together in order to create the best possible working environment and promote our culture across all divisions in the company.
RARES PASARE
LONDON RESTAURANTS GENERAL MANAGER
Rares will overlook operations of Solsice and Alter in London. He is a charismatic and dynamic character, who came to UK many years ago. As he is half Italian and half Romanian, hospitality is something he was born with. In his career, he had been working behind bars perfecting his mixology skills before he took on the leader role. Most recently, he had managed Plate restaurant at M hotel by Montcalm, he had lead teams of Bedales venues, and he had also spent the last summer at Royal Ascot taking ownership of the Royal Enclosure.
Rares bring his energy and a head full of ideas to elevate our London restaurants to the next level, so please give him a warm welcome and as much support as you can.
ALBERT MADANI
ACCOUNTANT
Albert Started His finance journey in 2014 as a Finance student at University of Balamand in Lebanon. He was at the same time Volunteer Accounts Assistant at Red Cross.
In 2018 He graduated from university and did Finance internship at Bank Audi. Albert moved to Brighton to study his Master’s degree in Corporate Finance and Risk Management from University of Sussex and graduated in 2020.
He moved to London in 2020 and started working as Team Leader at Indeed Flex. In 2021 he started new role as Accounts Assistant at Everything Hotels LTD. He is currently studying towards ACCA qualification.
He has developed his finance and accounting skills through work experience and academic background.
SOFIA-SCARLETT GATSBY
SALES & MARKETING