Jasmine Williams

Details

Catering Manager, Bank of America (Compass Group)
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Age: 25
Education: B.A. in sports/ entertainment/event management from Johnson & Wales University
Years at organization: 3

Why Selected?

According to Kimberly Webb, conference operations manager at Compass Group, Jasmine has made an impact on catering by:

•Overseeing an operation that delivers more than $1 million in catering each year to 13 Bank of America buildings in uptown Charlotte
•Expanding her knowledge by learning as much as she can about the business and doing whatever she can to make the business a success
•Mastering a new catering management system, which was a huge change from the system with which she was familiar 

Get to know

Q. What has been your proudest accomplishment?

I have risen through the ranks. I started as an intern, then as a catering attendant, then as an assistant catering supervisor and now I am the catering manager.
 

Q. What's the best career advice you've been given?

Know when to ask for help. Asking for help is not a weakness.  

Q. What's been the biggest challenge you've had to overcome?

Coming into a world that was different than what I had been used to. I had never been in this environment before and it opened my eyes fully to what foodservice operations go through.
 

Q. What's been your most rewarding moment?

When my customers are very happy that their event was successful and knowing that my team and I had a hand in making their day.
 

Q. What's been your funniest on-the-job disaster?

There was miscommunication on an order that was placed for 400 people. The order was delivered to the wrong building. Then as we were trying to move the food, the service elevator shut down and we had to take the normal elevator, but our carts were too big to fit. We had to use a flatbed cart that belonged to the building we were in. We had to exit the building through the front doors and drive our catering delivery vans from the loading dock to the front. Finally, on our way to transport the food to the correct location, tea and lemonade spilled everywhere in the catering vans, so we had to come back to our main building and re-brew the tea and lemonade.
 

What would you like to accomplish in your career short term?

Within the next five years, I would like to be a director of food and beverage, hopefully remaining within Compass Group.