CEO of Compass plc Don Davenport is the new chair of People 1st, the Sector Skills Council for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industries.

Brian Wisdom, CEO of People 1st, described Davenport as widely-respected in the industry and Compass as one of the skills council's strongest corporate supporters.

"Don has been chosen as Chair because he is a widely-respected business leader who can bring to us his vast experience of the UK hospitality sector and the skills challenges therein," he said.

Davenport said he was delighted with his new post.

"Ours is a very vibrant industry contributing a significant sum to the wealth of the economy," he said. "It is incumbent on us all to ensure that we continually innovate and deliver training programmes that are relevant to and valued by employees in the hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors."

He replaces out-going chair John Brackenbury.