National Association of Professional Women Inducts Celeste Acklin, Executive Assistant/Office Manager at HMSHost, Into its VIP Professional Woman of the Year Circle
Garden City, NY (PRWEB) May 02, 2017 -- The National Association of Professional Women (NAPW) honors Celeste Acklin as a 2017-2018 inductee into its VIP Woman of the Year Circle. She is recognized with this prestigious distinction for leadership in business. NAPW is the nation’s leading networking organization exclusively for professional women, boasting more than 850,000 members, a thriving eChapter and over 200 operating Local Chapters.
“I’m pleased to welcome Celeste into this exceptional group of professional women,” said NAPW President Star Jones. “Her knowledge and experience in her industry are valuable assets to her company and community.”
Celeste Acklin has been in her current role as Administrative Assistant to the VP of Operations at HMSHost since May 2015 and was recently promoted to Executive Assistant/Office Manager. She joined the company because of her interest in the hospitality industry and also because of its reputation as a recognized industry leader of innovative dining locations at airports and on motorways worldwide as well as for its belief in corporate responsibility.
In addition to providing confidential administrative support to the VP of Operations, Ms. Acklin also supports the Sr. Director of Finance, the Regional Loss Prevention Manager and other senior executives. “I provide leadership for all departmental functions, including planning, directing and evaluating departmental operations, conducting research and gathering all necessary information for the VP prior to meetings and events, and conducting and participating in training and professional development sessions.” Other responsibilities include overseeing the day-to-day office operations and procedures, organizing the office design, ordering stationery, equipment and nourishment items as needed, and managing contract and price negotiations with office vendors and service providers.
Ms. Acklin also manages and provides support in airport restaurant conversions within the region, and coordinates and conducts company feedback surveys, and represents the VP on numerous committees in his absence. She uses the many skills she has honed, including project management, leadership, team management and communication, to ensure projects are completed in a timely manner. “I have had to apply them all in order to complete a restaurant conversion,” she said. “This is where we go in and strip a restaurant of what it looked like and make it into a totally different concept. Sometimes this occurs over a couple of weeks and sometimes it is completed within 24 hours.”
Working with the company to accomplish its philanthropic goal of fighting poverty is an aspect of her career Ms. Acklin finds very rewarding. “I have been able to be a part of a company that is on a mission to fight the root cause of poverty,” she said. “Being able to be a part of something so phenomenal warms my heart.” Ms. Acklin recently earned her M.B.A. and is excited to see what the future has in store for her professionally. She hopes to be able to continue to combine her strong investigative skills with her passion for customer service while gaining additional skills and knowledge that will enable her to thrive in any role.
Awards & Accomplishments:
B.S., Mount Olive College, Criminal Justice and Criminology; M.B.A., Strayer University, Business Administration
About NAPW
NAPW’s mission is to provide an exclusive, highly advanced networking forum to successful women executives, professionals and entrepreneurs where they can aspire, connect and achieve. Through innovative resources, unique tools and progressive benefits, professional women interact, exchange ideas, advance their knowledge and empower each other.
Lisa Mancuso, NAPW, +1 (516) 453-6136, [email protected]
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