24
B C B U S I N E S S . C A
M AY
2 0 24 Ky r a n i K a n a v a r o s
LE ADER
WOTY
INGRID JARRETT
PRESIDENT AND CEO, BC HOTEL ASSOCIATION
I
ngrid Jarrett's first job was as a chambermaid
at a motel on Lake Okanagan. "Thank good-
ness it's not called that anymore," she says
with a chuckle. "I cleaned on the weekends and
evenings after school when I was 14. There were
shag carpets and cigarette butts and beer cans
and all kinds of things."
That work experience set the stage for decades
in hospitality for Jarrett, who moved to bartending
and serving in her 20s. "I loved it—I learned so
much about people, communication, organization,"
she says.
W I N N E R
"All those skills I developed in my career set me up for the
last four years, which have been incredibly challenging but
incredibly rewarding. Every day was a crisis."