Mickaël’s story: bringing entrepreneurial spirit to a thriving Sodexo career
Jerry's story: Finding my place and my people
I grew up in a military family where, I got used to moving about a lot—Philadelphia, Canada, England, Guam. I had known I was gay since 7th grade, but I kept it very hidden. I came out in the first year of college and I loved finding my own independence. I bought rainbow everything, feeling like it helped assert my newfound independence and freedom. When I went to college at Florida State University, I just wanted to get as far away from home as possible. I decided I wanted to be a lawyer to study international business, but I lost interest after just one semester. I changed my major four times— humanities, education, interior design. Ultimately, my mind wasn’t in the right place.
I came out to my parents in the third year of college. They were not accepting. They kept telling me it was a phase, that they were praying for me, we would get through this. We didn’t talk for almost a year. By this point I knew who I was, and I would not compromise that, even for family.
Through those trials and tribulations however, I found immense solace in cooking I would cook for my friends all the time at college, inspired by my mom who is incredibly creative in the kitchen. My partner at the time suggested I go to culinary school. I was skeptical, and admittedly tired of not figuring out what I wanted to do with my life.
From cook to general manager
I did my internship in NYC, and once I graduated from culinary school, I moved to Dallas, Texas where it took me four months to find a job. It was much harder than I expected it would be with a culinary degree under my belt. But eventually I saw an ad for a line cook at a corporate office for Eurest. I had never heard of contract food service, but I loved the idea of no nights or weekends and with savings quickly running out. It turned out to be one of the most pivotal decisions in my career and in my life.
I was working for an executive chef who was, brilliantly, lazy. It sounds like a bad thing, but it wasn’t because he taught me everything, so he didn’t have to do it. Not just cooking but business acumen too. He sent me to regional meetings that normally only salaried managers would attend. And ultimately this exposure got me a promotion to an executive chef role at another location.
After this I went on to work for Guckenheimer where I was able to progress from executive chef, to catering manager in Houston Texas, and finally a general manager in Memphis, Tennessee. Because of moving all around the world as a military brat, every few years I got the itch for something new. When looking for my next step, I found Sodexo.
Finding ‘Steadiness’
After 3 interviews, I got the role. I was the new general manager at Alcon in Fort Worth, Texas. Despite my initial confidence in applying for the position, I spent the first four months as a nervous wreck, trying to improve the operation and get my head around the complexity of this very visible account.
However, the team here was truly brilliant, a true diamond in the rough team. I loved the creative process when my team would come together to solve problems. We all came with different skills which complemented each other. Over the years we have had some come and go, but the core team is still intact. I even left during COVID to help our region in a different role. Ultimately, I had to get the band back together, and so I returned to Alcon in 2023. Together, I feel like we are unstoppable and subsequently, the account is now a Center of Excellence.
I’ve found my niche, my place, and my people here.
I have been quite self-conscious and doubted my abilities in the past, but I’ve been lucky to have had leaders who have supported me and encouraged me to push myself to the next role. I’ve also been motivated by those who have doubted me (intentionally and unintentionally), as this doubt has spurred me on to prove them wrong. Over time, I have become more comfortable with the uncomfortable and realize I need a combination of structure, and outlet for my creativity for me to thrive.
However, there is still much work to be done. I feel that the frontline employees, who make up most of our workforce, don’t get nearly as much exposure to initiatives which champion inclusivity. They can’t join EBRGs. So, this year we created a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion committee at Alcon to address this issue. For everyone to be part of a conversation where stories are heard and told, backgrounds are shared, and we can create an intentional focus that wasn’t there before. Some people hate labels, but I feel that sometimes they are necessary to ensure recognition, understanding, and acceptance. When I was younger, before, and just after I came out, my parents were in denial. Denial is the opposite of acceptance and having conversations as a team brings awareness and challenges people to be open minded, it’s this exposure which leads to understanding and inclusion. Our goal is universal acceptance and just like all the other challenges throughout my life, I plan to be successful with this one too.
