Chris Walker ’10 Chris Walker always fgured he’d wind up working in Las Vegas and its storied gaming industry. As a hospitality student at Mercyhurst, internships at Erie’s Presque Isle Downs & Casino and later at Caesars Palace confrmed he’d chosen the right specialty. The Caesars Palace experience landed him his frst job after graduation in 2010. As chief concierge, he oversaw concierge, telecommunications and guest services operations for the 4,000-room resort. Just a year later, he moved across town to the rival MGM Resorts International, where he’s been ever since in a variety of positions. He started at the corporate level, where he led a company-wide initiative to enhance the company’s service culture and improve the guest experience. Then he spent three years at individual properties in Vegas, as director of front ofce operations at the MGM Grand, director of hotel operations for Luxor Hotel and Casino, and director of human resources at Mandalay Bay & Delano Las Vegas. Now he’s back at the corporate level as director of strategic initiatives and change management, creating and executing change management plans for a range of initiatives focused on process improvement, divisional restructuring and organizational culture that impact the company’s 19 resorts and 71,000 employees. He’s currently involved in centralizing MGM Resorts’ human resources functions. For example, a single MGM Resorts University will take the place of individual training departments within each facility. As each program is rolled out, he says, “We have to make sure that changes have been efectively communicated, that the right people are involved, that solid training programs are in place and that everyone buys in to the overall goal.”
Shane Krige, right, congratulates Chef de Partie Mitch Eldridge, who was named employee of the month at the The Fairmont Washington DC, Georgetown. At left is Jason Rowley, senior banquet chef. Shane Krige ’91
Like his fellow hospitality graduates, Chris credits the hands-on education he got at Mercyhurst for helping him to succeed. “The balance between theoretical and practical application was incredibly valuable,” he says. “Classes like HR management and hospitality law, plus the breadth and depth of industry experience of the instructors contributed greatly to the overall experience.” Chris, who served as president of Mercyhurst’s chapter of HMA (Hospitality Management Association), also says trips to HMA and PCMA (Professional Conference Management Association) events took him all over the country (including Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, New York and New Orleans) and helped him explore all facets of the hospitality industry. Chris recently completed his Master of Business Administration at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, where he volunteers with the UNLV hospitality program and serves as a mentor for several students. In what little spare time he has, he enjoys travel and snowboarding.
the full engagement of the faculty and the genuine care to support and educate the students with passion. Like so many hospitality graduates, he’s especially grateful for the real-life experiences he was ofered, particularly his six-month internship at the Graylyn Conference Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He extended his stay there through the summer to work in the culinary department, eventually opening the banquet kitchens solo. “The entire internship supported by the school was a life-changing event for me and has helped shape my hospitality career,” he adds. Mercyhurst, he says, also taught him how hard work, dedication and perseverance pay of in the long run. Shane met his wife, Patricia (Tish), during his time in Washington. Their son, JR, is 15, and daughter Maddie is 11. In what little free time he has, he’s a passionate photographer. “When I’m not spending time with my family or dreaming about hotels, I’m being creative with my camera,” he notes. There are quite a few Mercyhurst alumni in Washington (like Mark Medrick, who is assistant director of catering at the Fairmont). Shane says the alumni meet occasionally as a group, “but not as much as I’d like.”
Shane Krige has been general manager of The Fairmont Washington DC, Georgetown, since 2014, back in the city where he started a career that has taken him around the country and the globe. An internship with Marriott’s Conference Center Division led to his frst job as executive steward at the Georgetown Conference Center. He remained in the D.C. area until 2003, holding a variety of jobs with Marriott, then Hyatt Hotels and eventually the Ritz- Carlton, including helping to open the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Hotel and Residences. Next came two years managing the Grosvenor House in London’s Park Lane and three more running the fve-star Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, before tackling a high-profle assignment: overseeing the $600 million renovation and reopening of The Plaza in New York City. From there, it was of to Bangalore, where he opened and managed the frst Ritz-Carlton in India from 2012 until he came back to the U.S. in 2014. Shane left his native South Africa at 18 to study in America, living with an aunt during the four years until his parents were able to immigrate. He says his most lasting memory of Mercyhurst is
To learn more about the programs ofered by the Walker College of Business and the Statler Department of Hospitality Management, visit mercyhurst.edu/walker .
20
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online