Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage: Meet Satish Dinakaran

Join Compass Group in its celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month. This week we are shining a spotlight on Satish Dinakaran, who is Indian and a Senior Executive Chef at Eurest. Here’s what he has to say about his experience creating opportunity to advance as a future leader:

“Many times, if a person cannot speak or communicate well in a language, they are treated differently even if they are very knowledgeable and skilled. I learned this by living and working in countries like India, Dubai, Armenia, Russia, Papua New Guinea and the United States.

“I have seen people who have been discriminated against just because they can’t speak or do not know a certain language and how a lack of fluency can limit career growth. It has happened to me.

“I also understand language is very important to performing specific jobs. I encourage my associates to learn a new language. In my experience living internationally, I have learned to speak Tamil (Indian), Malayalam (Indian), Hindi (Indian moderate level), Armenian and Russian (culinary level). If I can do it, I feel others can do so too.

“I have worked for Compass Group on different accounts in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., and in indifferent sectors like Morrison, Flik and Eurest. My goal is always to create an environment that contributes to a great workplace by recruiting people who have multicultural backgrounds and speak different languages. I provide balance and reinforce with my manager how important it is to have a great variety of cultures represented in our kitchen and in our workforce. It’s helpful to all people and benefits the organization.

“My chief strength is the ability to get along and thrive with people from various cultures who speak different languages; to be their mentor, provide growth, and steer them equally to opportunities so they can thrive too.”

We appreciate you, Satish!