What led you to your current position at Sodexo?
A career progression led me where I am today. With each job and move (13 over 10 years), I took on additional responsibility at larger facilities. After achieving the most successful new opening ever for the laundry division, I was chosen for my current role.

What is your typical day like?
I am responsible for the complete operations at 7 different laundry facilities from Lansing, MI to Miami, FL. My responsibilities include profit & loss functions, as well as growing relationships with our clients. I also participate in new business surveys and cost modeling for the laundry sales team. An average day starts early with a trip to the airport. Depending on the week, I may travel to three or four states. It is important and necessary to juggle multiple concerns and to quickly be able to switch gears as they relate to one facility and client or another.

What are some of the challenges you enjoy most?
For me the laundry process has always been simple: find the best way to get from point A to point B and make sure everyone knows how to do it. That is not always easy when you could be relying on 100-plus people to be successful. Getting the team to buy in and share my vision is a major challenge.

What's the best advice you could give to someone looking to get into your field?
Learn the business by doing it. Start at the bottom and see what it is like to soil sort, run the washroom and feed sheets. In order to know what your facility is capable of, you need to understand how the processes/equipment work.