Baker and Associates Leading Executive Chef Search
December 19, 2016 – Baker and Associates, LLC has been selected by the Club at Longview in Charlotte, NC, to lead its search for a new executive chef. Clint F. Wood, private club practice leader, and senior vice president Martin M. Baker are leading the assignment.
The executive chef will serve as a senior member of the management team at Longview and will be responsible for the entirety of the club’s culinary operations, including a la carte, special event, catering and quick service, across all outlets. He or she will directly supervise the executive sous chef and all back-of the-house (BOH) team members.
Working closely with the clubhouse manager, service director and director of events and activities, the executive chef will plan, implement and monitor departmental budgets. In addition, the incoming executive will be responsible for hiring, training, and supervising all BOH staff and apply relevant culinary management principles to ensure that the wants and needs of club members and guests are met.
Qualifications
The incoming executive must have a minimum of five years culinary management experience with a high-end private club and a proven track record of supporting strong member satisfaction and driving membership value. Successful candidates will be well-versed in many culinary styles, from modern American to traditional Southern to family-favorites. The chef must also be skilled at wine, beer, and spirit pairings with food.
A strong financial background with a track record of growing revenues and controlling costs is also highly desired as well as being an outgoing, polished and professional people person who enjoys interacting with members and has a highly-visible management style.
The Club at Longview offers manor-style luxury estates in Charlotte’s only fully-gated residential community, with an 18-hole golf course and world class amenities. Its diverse and active membership currently consists of 370 families.
Established in 2007, Baker and Associates’ professional staff have conducted some 850 searches for a diverse corporate and non-profit client base. Its searches include engagements for clients in many industrial, service, and non-profit sectors of the economy. The firm is currently leading general manager searches for Carolina Golf Club and Alamance Country Club. Messer’s Wood and Baker are also leading those assignments.
The Recruiters
Mr. Wood brings over 25 years of club management experience, having worked at some of the most prestigious clubs in South Carolina and North Carolina throughout his career. From 2008 to 2016, he served as general manager of Old Town Club in Winston-Salem, NC. Under his leadership, Old Town put in plans to construct a freestanding fitness facility, renovate the member grill, expand the pool pavilion, and restore the golf course by famed architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.
Mr. Baker has been in the executive search profession for 15 years and has conducted searches for the positions of CEO, CFO, CIO, provost, dean, director, and professor, having worked on over 300 searches throughout his career. The firm’s higher education practice is one of the most highly regarded in the country, having completed president and chancellor searches for Ball State University, Baylor University, University of Georgia, University of Illinois, University of Kentucky, University of Michigan, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Virginia Tech, and Mississippi State University, among a host of others.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media
