March/April 2023

SHARON ELIATAMBY, A HOSPITALITY GURU

Sharon Eliatamby has dedicated her professional career to creating the idea of hospitality as an individual experience. Utilizing the skills acquired from over 25 years in the industry, she understands the power of authentic and caring communication in every client interaction. As Senior Project Manager for Food and Catering Services at the World Bank Group (WBG), Ms. Eliatamby enjoys applying her unique philosophy of hospitality to everyone from the 185 member nations, adapting to the needs of all the different cultures she encounters every day.

Born and raised in Ipoh, Malaysia, Ms. Eliatamby has called Washington, DC home for over 20 years. She traverses the five major buildings that encompass the World Bank campus daily, where she oversees 24 food service facilities, several contract vendors, and 200 employees, as well as the conference center at the World Bank office in Paris. Dealing with several nationalities, her fluency in Bahasa Malaysia, Cantonese, Hokkien, and German always comes in handy! Before joining WBG, Ms. Eliatamby was the Director of Food and Beverage at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center. Throughout her career, she has worked with exclusive hotels, convention properties, catering organizations, and managed high-profile events. She has an impressive and successful track record working as a leader and helping increase service standards, quality, and profitability. Ms. Eliatamby has an extensive background in navigating events requiring tactful diplomatic international protocols Ms. Eliatamby was recently elected President of the Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management (SHFM), becoming the first

SHARON ELIATAMBY SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER WORLD BANK GROUP

Asian woman in this role. She is also on the SHFM board and a committee member for Diversity & Inclusion Council as well as the local chapter planning committee in Washington, D.C. In 2022, she served as Chair on the advisory council for the International Food Manufacturers Association (IFMA) and on their Business and Industry (B&I) for Food Services. She is a member of the International Association of Protocol Consultants, and a graduate of the Emily Post Institute, which specializes in business and dining etiquette training. Ms. Eliatamby has received numerous awards for exceptional service and performance. She is the recipient of the “President’s Award” and Directors Award for Leadership from Society for Hospitality and Food Service Management (SHFM), the Spark Plug and the class of 2023 Silver Plate Award from International Food Manufacturers Association (IFMA) for her dedication and devotion to the industry. A graduate of Johnson and Wales University Ms. Eliatamby enjoys mentoring the new generation of young Asian professionals by serving on the board of the Asian American Leadership Program (AALEAD). AALEAD is an organization that supports low-income and underserved Asian Pacific American youth with educational empowerment, identity development and leadership opportunities through after school programs as well as summer and mentoring programs.

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