General Manager

Richard Contell

Miami FL ***** *********@*******.*** +1-786-***-****

Process-driven Hospitality Management leader with 25 years of experience in the areas of hotel and restaurant administration, guest relations, and staff development. Key strengths include managing daily operations, staff, and budgets, as well as designing optimized systems for recruitment, training, performance assessment, health and safety, reporting, and continuous improvement. Bilingual: English/ French; Intermediate Spanish. Professional Experience

Ember Group Palm Beach/Miami, Operations Manager November 2020 – Present

● Oversaw several projects and training workshops, providing leadership and subject-matter expertise on hospitality best practices, cost estimating, strategic planning, team development, and quality control.

● Implemented agile methodologies to manage project plans, timelines, and team members, ensuring strong management controls for functional requirements and system design specifications.

● Partnered with executive leaders to develop new strategies for workflow, performance evaluations, and logistics, leading to new SOPs, new training materials, and updates to legacy systems.

● Identified areas for continuous improvement, such as developing automated control processes to capture critical metrics, such as project risks, resulting in a 20% increase in efficiency.

● Generated over detailed reports for key stakeholders regarding project performance status, risks, opportunities, and budget alignment.

Mr. C Hotel/ Bellini Restaurant Miami, Assistant F&B Director March 2019 – March 2020

● Acted as a primary champion for over 2000 guests per week, consistently delivering exceptional service, soliciting valuable feedback, and actively addressing and resolving guest complaints.

● Targeted areas for improvement with operational execution, scheduling staff to meet optimal coverage and driving sales by capitalizing on business development opportunities.

● Recruited, hired, and trained a talented team of more than 100 guest services associates and restaurant Staff.

La Petite Maison Miami, General Manager June 2016 – May 2018

● Served as primary point-of-contact for the management and daily operations of a fast-paced, client facing environment, coaching over 80 team members, and boosting employee engagement.

● Conducted audits and compliance reviews quarterly, ensuring adherence to company policies and proper use of budgeted funds.

● Led continuous improvement initiatives, such as developing training opportunities for staff and implementing data-driven decisions, which improved business and forecasting by 15%. Villa Azur Miami, Assistant General Manager February 2012 – February 2016

● Championed strategic goals, such as supporting the mission and vision of the company, hiring and training over 80 new team members, improving KPI scores by and identifying areas for improvement.

● Streamlined resource planning and reporting, generating financial statements and workforce reports, and negotiating savings in variable costs, decreasing operational expenses consistently.

● Served as mentor to staff, discussing issues, personal and professional development, and performance goals, leading to improvement in employee satisfaction. Buddha Bar New York, Assistant General Manager July 2010 – February 2012

● Oversaw a portfolio of services, including invoicing, payroll, facility management, and vendor engagement for an establishment with a customer base of 4000 guests per week.

● Created and implemented strategies to support growth, including team growth and development, process improvement, efficiencies, and systems implementation, reporting 10% yearly expansion.

● Interviewed, hired, and trained new employees with company objectives and best practices in mind, leading to a greater employee satisfaction and retention. Maison D’Azur Miami, Assistant General Manager December 2007 – July 2010

● Led a management team and hourly associate team focused on delivering an exceptional guest experience, growing sales, and adhering to high standards.

● Contributed to delivering budgeted revenues and profits, preparing weekly reports, approving invoices, and implementing creative solutions to administrative tasks.

● Implemented processes and standards that contributed to cost-saving purchases, while managing inventory and quality controls.

Additional Experience

Nozomi, London Restaurant Manager

Nikki Beach, St Tropez, St Barts, Cannes Head Waiter Le Grand Café / Le Cap Horn, Courchevel Head Waiter Dominique, Paris Floor Manager

Elizabeth Daniel, San Francisco Head Waiter

Restaurant Plouf, San Francisco Bartender

River Café, Paris Head Bartender

Core Competencies

Operations Management, Restaurant opening, Team Education and Development, Budgeting, Forecasting, Business Acumen, Conflict Resolution, Scheduling, Recruiting/ Hiring, Marketing, Inventory Management, Guest Relations/ Client Engagement, Payroll, Financial Reporting, P&L, Cost/ Quality Control, Microsoft Office, Eduflow, Micros, Aloha, Toast, 7shifts, OpenTable… Education & Certifications

Managerial Accounting, University of Illinois

Business Foundations - Marketing, University of Pennsylvania Training and Development with Eduflow

Excel for Business, Macquarie University

Florida Real Estate License

Community Association Manager

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