Jerry Were is a qualified Hotel Manager with over 15 years of experience in managing hotels and an MBA (Service Excellence) from Anglia Ruskin University in the UK. He is currently the General Manager of the award-winning, 5-star Nyungwe Forest Lodge, located in the Western Province of Rwanda, and also the Hospitality Operations Manager of Dubai World-owned hotels in Rwanda. Jerry has previously worked with leading global and regional hospitality brands like the Renaissance Ft. Lauderdale Hotel in Florida, U.S.; Breezes Beach Club & Spa in Zanzibar, Tanzania; Sarova Hotels in Kenya; and Hilton in Edinburg, Scotland, UK. A passionate hotelier, Jerry is a Certified Hospitality Trainer (CHT) and a Certified Hospitality Administrator (CHA); he is also an Associate of The Institute of Hospitality (AIH). Jerry is a qualified career coach and executive coach, a columnist, an author, a hospitality mentor, and a motivational speaker. Jerry is a strong advocate of personal, career, and service excellence and is actively involved in activities that promote excellence in these three spheres. He has so far authored The Meticulous Mind of the Interviewer, The Memory Maker Mentality, and Personal Excellence (PX) Factor. He also writes the Hospitality Perspectives column for The Service Mag (TSM) and The Memory Maker column for The Eye Magazine (TEM), two of Rwanda’s leading business magazines, and uses these media and other forums and platforms, such as speaking engagements and hospitality mentorship programs, to make a difference and share insights on the subject of excellence.
Opportunity can be a strange visitor who comes and goes. When he comes, he comes from nowhere and changes your life almost completely. I am reminded of days back when I was about 12 years old. Safari Rally, an annual motor racing event, almost always brought everything to a halt. The event was so popular that the...
The memory of the worst event I helped to arrange and host is still very fresh in my mind. It all came down to one simple mistake, which could well be described as an error of judgment on my part as the reservations manager, the person responsible for admitting people to the ballroom where the gala...
The most exciting talk in Kigali right now is the World Economic Forum on Africa. Rwanda’s capital city will host the landmark event from May 11-13, 2016. Every effort has been made to ensure that the event is not only successful, but also very memorable. The organizers have done their part, but one of the most important...
The best decision I ever made It’s been exactly 16 years since I made one of the most important — and I can confidently say best — decisions in my professional life: that of choosing and pursuing hospitality management as a career. I was only 20 years old then, and like many young people at...
