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Meet Shaneil Sibblies

Shaneil Sibblies has always had a passion for food, parties and people.  While attending MAST Academy High School here in Miami, FL, she got her first taste for catering while enrolled in the Food Production Program.  Shaneil was always the first to volunteer her time to help prepare and cook meals for many of the school's special events.  Not many teenagers aspired to one day owning a restaurant the way Shaneil did.  From this point on she was hooked.

She met Bill Hansen while attending Florida International University; she was enrolled in Bill's Catering Management class.  Seeing how passionate she was about the subject matter, Bill offered her a part time serving job within his company in 2006, and after she graduated from the school's Hospitality Management Program in 2007, she earned herself a full time position with Bill Hansen Catering.  She's worked hard to make her way up from the ranks of server, to a banquet captain, to a sales coordinator, to Sales Manager, to Operations Assistant Manager, to Director of Sales, and is now the General Manager of the company.  "I like to work.  This is what I enjoy doing," she says.

When Shaneil is not working, she's vacationing.  The more exotic location, the better.  She uses her travels as inspiration for work.  It was just after her recent trips to India and Spain that she wanted to share her culinary experiences with others and introduce different type of menus to Bill's already extensive repertoire.  "I love traveling because it links different cultures, people, and food."

Frank van der Post ’84 joins British Air

Frank, who is from the Netherlands, came to FIU after completing The Hague Hotel School. He joined Intercontinental Hotels after graduating from Florida International University and in a 21-year career worked in 14 international cities. By 2005 he was the regional vice president for the East Coast and the Caribbean, based at The Barclay Hotel in New York City.

He joined Jumeirah in 2007 as senior vice president for the Americas responsible for establishing Jumeirah in the Americas. In recognition of his talent he was promoted to COO in 2007 and moved to Dubai to oversee the company’s global operation. In January 2011 he was appointed Managing Director, Brands and Customer Experience of British Air based in London.

 Bruce Blum ’82, Partner, The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC, an advisory and investment firm focused on the property management, asset management, renovation and development of lodging assets,  has 25 years of principal-oriented hotel investment, acquisition, development, asset management and operational experience. Prior to Chartres Lodging Group, Bruce served as CEO of Doral Hotels & Resorts, five years as a private company and three years as President while a public division of MeriStar, formerly one of the nation’s largest publicly traded hotel companies. During his career, Mr. Blum has been instrumental in the acquisition, development, refinance and/or sale of $2+ billion of hotel and resort projects in addition to his asset management and operating responsibilities.   

Jouvens Jean, 30, is the executive chef of SAWA Restaurant in Coral Gables. He started his career at a local Italian restaurant from 1997-1999. In 1999, he landed a job at Baleen Restaurant where he served under esteemed chef Robin Hass. In 2001 he moved to the Hyatt Regency Miami. Three years later, he joined the Conrad Miami Brickell as executive sous chef. In 2009, he was tapped by the W South Beach where he worked as the executive sous chef. Last year, Jean opened SAWA Restaurant as executive chef/partner. He graduated from FIU with a bachelor’s in hospitality management in 2008.