Imagine Your Impact

I have been working with Aramark’s uniforms services in the Bay Area for more than 22 years, starting in 1993 as a sales representative with a local uniforms delivery route.

Since then, I’ve spent the better part of my career moving up through our uniforms business, taking on larger responsibilities with each new role. I moved from my sales route to manager to account executive, all the way to director of sales. Now, I manage the entire Northwest region for our strategic uniforms business, as well as cleanroom business development in the US and Puerto Rico.

The best advice I can give people is that you have to be patient, but take advantage of the good experiences you get along the way. 

Aramark taught me that every day I should always make customers feel like they made the right choice. When I was a district manager, I had a customer who was looking for something new and innovative from his uniform services, so I paid attention, understood what he was looking for and offered the help of my team. Shortly after, he was so pleased with what we had accomplished, he renewed his contract with us and we picked up two new locations. By listening, following up and building that relationship, I was able to make sure he had an excellent experience.

While I’ve enjoyed a long successful career personally, I consider the people I’ve trained and promoted to be my biggest accomplishment. I work closely with my team, develop them and use my experience as a guide to help carve their own career path. Seeing them succeed gives me a great sense of pride.  

As part of my development process, I encourage all new account executives to go on community service trips, so that they understand how their role at this company goes deeper than selling uniforms. It always ends up being a great experience for them in connecting with the community. One time I was painting a local community center in San Francisco and turned to discover that Aramark’s president was painting right alongside me. I thought that was really impressive.  Aramark is about people and community and I’m proud to work for a company that knows the importance of giving back.

I’ve been with Aramark Higher Education since September 1991 and I have more zeal and passion for the business than ever before. My experience has afforded me the opportunity to meet hundreds of individuals across dozens of accounts in two countries. I’ve had several mentors along the way from Sherwood Lincoln, Mark Pronovost, Roger Roberge and Jack Lucas to name a few. I’ve been able to procure quite a bit of knowledge and a wealth of experience from these individuals.

This is the reason why I personally consider my strongest impact to the enterprise to be based around people. This includes coaching, developing and even learning from all Aramark employees no matter what their title or responsibility. If you’re not afraid to make mistakes and you make a conscious effort leave the workplace a better place than you found it DAILY, you’ve done your job.

Four years ago, I came over to Aramark after a career working in some of the service industry’s largest organizations.Coming off that experience, it’s hard not to compare those companies to Aramark – it has definitely measured up!

From the very beginning, Aramark began to challenge and change how I approached my day-to-day duties. The workplace culture was positive, energetic and collaborative. From the top down, we were encouraged to challenge the status quo and always think of new ways to do things even better. My team and I work every day to provide great customer service and think of new ways to move Aramark forward.

Now, that mindset influences every decision I make, starting with the people I hire, who are Aramark’s most important asset and business driver.

Aramark’s ability to break the mold and create experiences customers want is what differentiates us from the rest of the industry. Yes, we serve great food and beverage but it’s more than that.  My team and I collect data and uncover insights that drive fact-based decision-making, allowing us to target, track and plan more effectively in order to form a more personal connection with the customer. And that’s what we’re about here.

I found that Aramark is open to fast-tracking high potential individuals. We bring in people with the right DNA, even if they don’t necessarily have a lot of prior experience. If a candidate is prepared to learn on the job and rise to the challenge, we don’t hold them back because of age or level or experience.

Growing and mentoring my teams are what I believe to be at the heart of delivering great customer service. Seeing them impact the organization in positive ways is why I do what I do. 

With 32 years of experience in the foodservice business, I can honestly say that the last twelve years that I have spent with the Aramark team have been the most defining point in my career. From my early role as Brand Manager for Higher Education through to my current role as Senior Director of Culinary for the Canadian Culinary Innovation Center, it is clear that Aramark is in the people business and driven with passion for customer service.

Our Culinary Innovation team continually focuses on quality, health, convenience and value and by keeping these front of mind, we are able to lead our industry through health, wellness, innovation and continue to exceed our customer’s expectations.