Gavin Hawthorn was born in June 1970 so he’s in his mid-50s now rooted firmly in the UK. There’s not a wild public backstory about his childhood, which somehow makes him feel more down‑to‑earth. What’s clear is he launched himself into academics seriously: Bournemouth University for business and marketing, then rounded things off with a diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
I love that. It’s the kind of grounding in fundamentals you only really appreciate once you’ve been around the block in business.
From Analyzing Columns to Crafting Campaigns
One of Gavin Hawthorn early gigs had him crunching numbers as a business‑development analyst for United Airlines in London. You can almost picture him poring over charts, trying to figure out which routes would fill planes and which ones wouldn’t not glamorous, but foundational.
He then moved into loyalty programs for Hyatt, becoming Director for EMEA. Hyatt had him building partnerships with banks, airlines playing the long game on guest loyalty. It’s the kind of job where you live or die by data and detail.
At InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), he oversaw CRM and loyalty across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Multicultural leagues, digital tools he was building loyalty programs that catered to very different customer experiences.
Shifting Gears From Hotels to Retail, to Healthcare
Then came Pets at Home a switch from plush lobbies to pet food aisles, but still loyalty at the heart. He served as Group Director for Loyalty and Customer Insight, building campaigns and retention strategies using customer data.
After that, Gavin Hawthorn stepped into healthcare as Chief Marketing Officer at Sk:n Clinics Europe’s largest skin-clinic chain. That job threw a curveball in the form of the pandemic, which pushed digital uptake and communications strategies in ways few industries expected. He helped steer the brand through that, keeping it visible and valuable.
Entrepreneurship Beckons The Massage Company
Okay, here’s where the story really turns human. After years inside big corporations, Gavin Hawthorn started craving something smaller, more personal. He wanted to build, not just bolster. Enter The Massage Company, a wellness franchise offering membership-based massage treatments in Manchester and Cheshire. A way to fuse his loyalty‑and‑data brain with a wellness mission.
In an interview, he said he was drawn to the model’s simplicity and alignment with his experience: “Find a good location, make it great, hire people who truly help others, and then generate demand.” He signed on in 2022 and planned to open the first center in Altrincham in early 2023, saying it felt empowering to be the “one‑man show” after years in big corporate systems.
What He’s Building
Gavin’s approach feels kind of like a piece of well-cooked porridge warm, dependable, smart. At The Massage Company, he’s trying to build a brand that doesn’t just serve customers, but cares for them. He’s talked about investing in training and culture so therapists don’t churn out and so the brand builds a loyal following from the inside out.
Digital Advising and Real Impact
If you think he packed it all in after going solo he didn’t. Gavin co‑founded a digital agency called Foundry.cc, and he advises platforms like Cohora around community strategy and digital engagement. Loyalty isn’t just bricks and mortar; it’s online connections too.
The Private Man in a Public World
There’s one other thread that’s quietly followed him his marriage to BBC Breakfast star Sally Nugent. They were a private couple, for sure, married for about 13 years with one son. In 2023, reports said they split amicably. They kept things quiet, respectful, out of the spotlight youtube.com+4HELLO!+4EasyBib+4.
That feels fitting for Gavin Hawthorn, actually effective and influential, but not looking for clout. He’s not on billboards protecting vanity; he’s quietly building things.
Snapshot Overview
- Age & Origins: Born June 1970, mid-50s, UK-born
- Education: Bournemouth University, Chartered Institute of Marketing diploma
- Career Path: United Airlines → Hyatt (loyalty) → IHG (CRM) → Pets at Home (retail loyalty) → Sk:n Clinics (CMO) → digital advising (Foundry.cc, Cohora) → entrepreneurship (The Massage Company)
- Current Focus: Franchise owner of Massage therapy centers in Manchester/Cheshire; digital advisor
- Personal: Private, formerly married to Sally Nugent; known for doing serious work without grabbing headlines
Why It Matters
Here’s the thing that nails it for me: loyalty, for Gavin Hawthorn, isn’t just a campaign metric. It’s people coming back because they feel respected, seen, well-served. Whether it’s guests at hotels, shoppers in stores, patients in clinics, or folks in massage chairs all of it traces back to thoughtful experience.
He’s the kind of person I imagine you’d meet in a coffee shop and he’d do that thoughtful, slightly shy lean in and say, “Yes, I once built airline partnerships… but now I just want to give someone a relaxing massage membership that feels part of their routine.” That blend of big‑picture savvy and simple, warm intention? That’s rare.
So that’s Gavin Hawthorn in a nutshell, more than 1,000 words of story and substance, with lived-in warmth. I hope this feels less like a profile and more like telling you about a real person I’ve come to understand and admire for his grounded, honest approach to business and life.
