Open to opportunities

William Baird

@williambaird

Food Services Director and chef focused on compliant, high-volume meal programs, team leadership, and operational excellence.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I’m looking to be an asset where I can lead food services or operations end-to-end—using my experience building compliant systems, managing teams and budgets, and recruiting great talent to keep service consistent and growing.

I’m a Food Services Director and Head Chef with experience running high-volume, mission-critical food programs—from creating meal plans and ordering truck orders for summer campers and groups of up to 400 people to cooking, cleaning, and ensuring full compliance and food handling standards. I lead teams of up to 15 people while keeping operations smooth across special events and large group service.

Previously, I served as a General Manager, operating a store “top to bottom” with full responsibility for recruiting, scheduling, product ordering, equipment upkeep, cleaning compliance, deposits, banking, and P/L metrics. I trained staff on compliance requirements and maintained full operational readiness while balancing the day-to-day with accountability.

I’ve also built and scaled hospitality operations from the ground up. As Founder/President of Operations, I created and executed a new restaurant business—handling permits and liquor licensing, building key infrastructure, creating recipes from scratch, hiring and training 30 employees, managing budgets, and staying operational through Michigan COVID-19 mandates.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Food Services Director

Current

CranHill Ranch

Jul 2025 - Present (11 months)

Created meal plans and ordered truck supplies for summer campers, special events, and groups up to 400 people. Cooked all meals, handled cleaning and compliance/food handling, and led a team of up to 15.

Meal Planning Food Safety Compliance Food Production Team Leadership

General Manager

Papa Johns

May 2022 - May 2025 (3 years)

Operated the store end-to-end, including recruiting, scheduling, product ordering, and equipment maintenance/cleaning. Trained staff on compliance, managed deposits and banking, and monitored P/L metrics to keep the store fully operational.

Store Operations Recruiting Scheduling Staff Training Food Safety Compliance Customer Service Equipment Maintenance

Recruiter

Baird Tech

Aug 2020 - Jan 2023 (2 years 5 months)

Assisted a family business with part-time recruiting by sourcing candidates using LinkedIn and social media. Filtered and matched talent to role requirements to support hiring decisions.

Talent Sourcing LinkedIn Social Media Recruiting Candidate Screening Remote Recruiting Outreach

Founder & President Ops

Vin Trofeo’s Pizzeria & Pub

Jul 2018 - Mar 2022 (3 years 8 months)

Created and launched a pizzeria & pub from scratch, including permits/licensing coordination and legal documentation with local counsel. Built the kitchen systems, developed recipes, hired and trained 30 employees, grew social media to 6k followers in a year, and sustained about $15,000 in weekly sales.

Restaurant Launch Permitting Recipe Development Social Media Growth Budget Management Operations Leadership

General Manager

Phenix Bar & Restaurant and Stray Dog Pizza

Aug 2017 - Jul 2018 (11 months)

Led a staff of about 25 and managed payroll, scheduling, truck ordering, marketing, deposits, customer service, and live events. Turned around the business and doubled sales in under a year while keeping state and county permits/licenses current.

Restaurant Operations Payroll Scheduling Marketing Customer Service Live Events Sales Growth

Phone/ Satellite Technician

Winn Telecom

Jul 2014 - Feb 2017 (2 years 7 months)

Performed outside-plant telecom work including installs and service calls for DSL, wireless, and satellite internet, and supported installations for the Exede branch. Built new copper/fiber construction, spliced fiber, installed ONTs, and used ground/aerial equipment while prioritizing customer satisfaction.

Customer Service

Field Supervisor & Technician

Multiband

Jan 2008 - Jul 2014 (6 years 6 months)

Supervised and installed telecom services, including DirecTV (residential/commercial), Hughesnet, Wildblue/Exede, and ADT home security. Managed up to 18 technicians with daily meetings, quality control inspections, inventory approval, benchmark tracking, and damage-claim assessments.

DirecTv Satellite Internet (Hughesnet Exede)ADT Team Supervision Quality Control Inventory Management

Quality Supervisor

IAC (Lear)

Jul 2007 - Nov 2007 (4 months)

Oversaw inspections of finished goods to ensure quality and productivity goals were met and that employees worked safely. Appointed work assignments and led daily production meetings with teams of up to 25 employees.

Inspections Production Support Safety Compliance Daily Production Meetings Team Supervision