Stewart Massiah, Goddard Catering’s former Vice President of Operations, has been appointed Divisional General Manager for the Catering Group of Goddard Enterprises Ltd (GEL).

The appointment became effective from August 1st when Mr. Massiah took over from GEL Director, Joseph E. Nicholson, who previously held the post of Divisional General Manager for the Airline Catering Division since 1988 before retiring on July 31, this year.

Noting he was looking forward to the opportunity to lead the Catering Division of Goddard Enterprises which currently operates across twenty-one countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, Mr. Massiah said he expected it to be both challenging and exciting.

“The issues confronting the aviation catering industry such as high fuel prices,  escalating raw material and operating costs and the expected consolidation among airlines will present challenges but this will be  countered by our move into new areas of business such as restaurants, Grab ‘n’ Go  operations and industrial and event catering.”

Looking to the future, Mr. Massiah said the Catering Division had created a clear vision of where it wanted to go over the next five years and had set goals which have been communicated to all the operating companies. He sees a central role for himself in the achievement of those goals.

“The Division has over 2050 dedicated employees and my job will be to guide and inspire them to deliver on our plan and to take corrective action to stay on course as market conditions change. I am very confident that we have a team who are up to the challenge and who are dedicated to creating value for our shareholders.”

Noting that the Goddard Catering Group would continue to look for new opportunities to expand the Division, Mr. Massiah said the company would also be focused on delivering results in its existing businesses.

GEL Human Resources Director, Dr. Ashwell Thomas welcomed Mr. Massiah’s appointment noting the Florida-based executive’s vast experience blended with outstanding leadership qualities would serve the Group in good stead particularly in today’s competitive environment.

Stewart Massiah was educated at St Kitts Nevis Grammar School and Presentation College in Barbados and graduated from Loughborough Technical College in the UK with a Diploma in Business Studies & Public Administration.

He joined the Goddard Group as an Operations Supervisor in 1974 and has served in several managerial capacities in Barbados and Jamaica before being appointed in 1992 as Vice President of Operations of Goddard Catering Group based in Florida overseeing the operational activities of all of the companies in the Division.
 
The now retired Joseph E. Nicholson, from whom Mr. Massiah takes over, was also appointed to the GEL Board in February 1998. Having joined the Barbados Flight Kitchen as an Executive Chef in 1971, Mr. Nicholson, was instrumental in the acquisition of Antigua Catering in 1973, and Versair In-Flite Services Ltd in Jamaica in 1981 and during his time managed 22 Airline Catering Operations in 18 countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America with over 2000 employees, catering to some 68 airlines.

(28 August 2008)