Roberto Pajares
Name: Roberto Pajares<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>
Date of birth: 1971
Job title: Director of operations, Great Eastern hotel
Location: Liverpool Street, London
First job in hospitality? Summer job as a barman at a hotel in Marbella.
How did you get from there to your current job? The following summer, I worked as a room service waiter at Claridge's, and the summer after that I got a job as a trainee in the front office and housekeeping departments of the Pierre Hotel in New York. The next summer, I was a supervisor with Ring & Brymer and Town & County in the UK. All these jobs were while I was getting my BSc in hotel and catering at Surrey University.
My first full-time job was between 1991 and 1992 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Florida. I was on industrial release as a management trainee, covering the front office and room service.
Afterwards, I went for 18 months to the Hotel Inter-Continental, Dubai, where I started as a management trainee in stewarding, accounts and cost control. I later became room service manager.
Next, I spent a year at the Semiramis Inter-Continental, Cairo, as F&B co-ordinator for a hotel with 840 bedrooms, 15 F&B outlets and eight outside catering venues.
I then moved to the 559-bedroom Athenaeum Inter-Continental, Athens. I was assistant F&B manager for 16 months.
From September 1997 to August 2000, I was general manager at the 150-seat Conran restaurant, Coq d'Argent in London. This included the pre-opening phase, which was an amazing experience.
I joined the Great Eastern hotel in September 2000 as executive manager, restaurants. In July 2002, I became director of operations. I oversee all F&B activities, as well as housekeeping. The rooms division and its sales side are handled separately.
What do you most enjoy about your job? The fact that it's about practicality and dealing with people, so I'm always on the move, keeping busy and talking to different people and not sitting at my desk. I'm surrounded by people with lots of drive and energy and that drives me.
What do you dislike about the job? Getting negative reviews. They're really demoralising for the staff. I also don't enjoy the paperwork aspects very much.
What attributes do you need to do your job? Enjoy working with people and have lots of energy.
What would be your next move?General manager of a hotel with restaurants or managing director of a restaurant group.
What would be your ultimate career move? My own restaurant, hotel or retail business with my wife. I would also love to open a restaurant in Barcelona and work in Thailand at some point.
