Account Manager by Day, Professional Wrestler by Night

Kori Meshaw has been with the company for almost 10 years. Read about his career path, his favorite company perks, and how he balances his work life with his unique hobby!?

What roles have you held over your tenure with us???

I started at WebstaurantStore fresh out of college in 2014 and began my journey as a Customer Solutions Specialist. This was a tremendous experience for me, being able to interact with customers through various channels, most prominently on the phone, which I LOVED (high “I” alert)! I’ve always been a bit of a people person, and this outlet gave me the ability to hone my skills and increase my emotional intelligence. I gained invaluable knowledge of our industry, our company, de-escalating situations, and smiling through the phone, along with an endless list of other traits I picked up from our team and an incredible group of leaders.??

As I grew into the CS position, I was fortunate enough to transition into a role as a Platinum Account Representative. For those who aren’t familiar, Platinum is a dedicated team within WebstaurantStore whose goal is to provide a higher level of service for customers who have shown continued loyalty to Web. Through my natural enjoyment of building relationships, this role provided me with tools to blend that joy with the commerce side of our business. I was able to see through more of a sales-focused lens and elevate my relationships by not only assisting in their daily needs, but learning more about what their future needs consist of, and proactively working on solutions we offer that they could benefit from.?

I enjoyed this role for about 6 years before I was approached about an opening with Clark National Accounts (CNA)! When I first joined one of Clark’s newest and fastest-growing divisions, I arrived as an Account Executive, seeking out new business opportunities with nationally recognized chains. This was another tremendous opportunity to further sculpt my sales mold, as I was tasked with exploring potential business opportunities through cold outreach (email, calls, LinkedIn, etc.) and working with our team to complete RFQs, incoming leads, and conferences to grow our portfolio of partners. This is such an important role in our division as essentially the “face” of CNA and the first encounter some of these potential partners have with us! I enjoyed this role for a couple of years, before transitioning into an Account Manager position. Reiterating my passion for building relationships, my current role as an AM serves as an opportunity to build long-lasting relationships and be a key resource for all accounts that we sign on as partners. I’m able to work with corporate at the chains from a high-level perspective, but it also gives me an opportunity to work with the various teams within our division. This includes our AEs during the handoff once a partner is signed, our Account Support and Logistics teams daily, the wonderful folks who operate our platform, and our newest team, Equipment Project Services. There is such a large variety of tasks that present themselves each day, and all of these members are invaluable assets.??

As a result, we have such a highly team-oriented division that encourages each other and provides endless support. We all want to improve the division while working together. I’m so lucky to have such an amazing cast around me, who show support outside of the office as well.?

What’s one of your favorite company perks???

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention one of the greatest perks of all - getting to bring our dogs to work! As a division, we come into the office every Tuesday and Wednesday. With my wife also going to work on Wednesdays, I get to bring in my special little fur bud, Sturgill! I don’t want to brag, but he’s totally an office favorite, and he gets way too many treats from everyone in the building when he comes in. He provides such a light in my day and makes each moment that much more special. He loves to trot around and look for other furry friends that might be in as well, so they can share some time to play outside in the dog park.??

Tell us about this hobby!?

Outside the confines of our office, I have a slightly unique hobby as a… professional wrestler! My wrestling name is Breaux Keller. This is something I’ve been doing for the past 6 years and has been a “wild” journey to say the least. It takes a lot of time away from home and is certainly a sacrifice I’ve been making, but this has always been a dream of mine and I’ve really been pushing to take this as far as I can go.?

I’ve had the great fortune of working with two of the biggest wrestling promotions in the world today, AEW and WWE, the latter being my proudest moment. I performed in Washington, D.C., at the Capital One arena in front of 18,000 fans on WWE Monday Night RAW. This was televised live across the country and streamed around the world. It was the culmination of everything I had worked tirelessly for! I attribute this to my family and friends, but also to the support I received from coworkers, along with the flexibility I was provided by this company. We are so fortunate with the time off that is provided, plus the benefit of having our own gyms in two separate Lancaster offices! I’ve spent plenty of time in these gyms, and not having a membership to a box gym or having to worry about driving to a local facility has been incredible.??

Overall, I feel very lucky to have such an even work/life balance through Clark. It’s been such an incredible ride, and I certainly wouldn’t be nearing a decade with this company if I didn’t love every moment I’m here!?