Meet Our Management Team
Patrice Rice, President
Derek Spurlock, Vice President
John Deaton, Vice President Operations
Bernice Gregorieff, Director of Training Director and Development
Angela Guerreiro, National Account Manager
Nadine Vauthier, Executive Assistant
Patrice Rice, President
Patrice Rice has an entrepreneurial background with a history of building successful businesses. Her career started when she opened Chesapeake Cruising, the largest fleet of powerboats for charter on the Chesapeake Bay. She became the first woman Captain on the Chesapeake and launched the industry of corporate entertaining on luxury yachts in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Patrice then purchased and operated a marina restaurant from when she further developed a catering service specializing in the yachting industry.
Patrice & Associates opened in 1989 and has grown to be one of the largest hospitality recruiting firms in the country. For over 20 years, Patrice has been a staffing partner with some of the largest corporations providing hospitality managers at all levels.
Patrice is driven to stand apart from others agencies by partnering with recruiters and franchisees that share her same belief and which has been the cornerstone of her business, “Recruiting is not about money, it is about helping people”.
With an extensive training program based on her business model, Patrice has developed a network of successful recruiters nationwide and is now expanding the company’s reach and effectiveness through franchisees. Her commitment to the success of others is evident throughout her organization.
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Derek Spurlock, Vice President
Derek joined Patrice & Associates in 2005 as a Special Projects Manager and moved into his current position in 2007. Having spent 15 years in the IT industry as a senior level network engineer and project manager, his organizational abilities have contributed greatly to the company growth. Derek is solely responsible for all back-office support and development including the new Patrice & Associates brand, website and brochures; development of business and promotional items for franchisees; trade show booth design and convention coordination. Derek’s contributions have forged Patrice & Associates to the next level of professionalism in keeping with their new branding efforts and franchising program.
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John Deaton, Vice President Operations
John Deaton lives in Mechancisville, VA and has an outstanding record of building businesses and supporting franchisees. For the last 8 years he was with CiCis Pizza and held the position of Director of Operations of the Eastern Division. In this role he was responsible for 300 franchise units and three corporate markets totally over $300 million in annual sales. He also was responsible for recruitment, hiring, and training all field team personnel.
Prior to CiCi’s he was Vice President, United States Operations of MaggieMoo’s International where he was instrumental in developing the concept to facilitate the desired goal of sale. Additionally he was with TCBY Systems for 12 years and held the position of Regional Vice President, Franchise Development. In this role he managed East Coast Operations and the Field Marketing Team that incorporated a 15-state region and 750 stores. He facilitated development and managed business relations with Exxon, Texaco, Shell Oil, Subway, Blimpie, Taco Bell, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Pizza Inn.
John’s focus will be the strategic management of Patrice & Associates including brand development through the introduction of new products and client services. He also will partner with franchisees for business development and market share.
Bernice Gregorieff, Director of Training and Development
Bernice joined Patrice & Associates as a recruiter in October 2008 and quickly joined the ranks as one of our top producers. Her dedication and commitment to other’s success contributed to her promotion in October 2009 to Director of Training and Development. Bernice brought with her 18+ years of progressive experience in building and maintaining Award Winning sales teams, strategic business relationships, Record-Setting recruiting for competitive firms including team management, training and development. Prior to joining Patrice & Associates, Bernice was a senior staff member and designated trainer for Manager Force. She also held Sales Director and Senior Management Titles for Axelrod Inc. and Levit Shay Inc., training teams in excess of 100+. Her record of achievement in introducing new strategies, recruiting matrices, lead generation and targeted training systems is only matched by her consistently being recognized for maintaining the, “highest number of annual hires” during her tenure. When speaking with Bernice you will discover her sincere passion is facilitating success for others. She is 100% committed to the process of franchisees and recruiters realizing their dreams of a thriving home business. Her training skills and abilities were validated within her first month of accepting her new role with Patrice & Associates when she developed a new franchisee in less than 4 weeks and a placement was secured. I don’t think it is coincidence that the name “Bernice” actually means, “The One Who Brings Victory”.
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Angela Guerreiro, National Account Manager
As the National Account Manager for Patrice & Associates, Angela Guerreiro has over six years of experience in Account Management and Business Development. She began her career in Executive Recruiting and successfully transitioned into the Hospitality Industry. Angela has played an integral role in expanding our clientele, which now boasts some of the biggest names in the industry.
She partners with clients to fill their management needs and guides the sourcing activities of our network of recruiters to ensure consistently superior results. Angela has also been involved in creation and implementation of marketing materials and strategies for the Patrice & Associates new branding efforts.
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Nadine Vauthier, Executive Assistant
Nadine joined Patrice & Associates in the spring of 2010 and provides administrative support for our growing organization. Having prior hospitality, sales, management and hiring experience, Nadine handles the administrative and organizational duties here at Patrice & Associates. Nadine’s “behind the scenes” support plays an integral role in the smooth operation of Patrice & Associates. Some of her duties include management of all shipping logistics; help with Franchisee compliance tracking, web site maintenance, Accounts receivable/Accounts payable and contacting potentially new recruiters. She is also responsible for coordinating travel arrangements for and often attending national trade shows in support of Patrice & Associates franchising efforts.
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