About

Jesse Barber is an operations leader with nearly 10 years of progressive leadership experience across hospitality, food and beverage, gaming, and retail operations. His career has advanced through increasingly complex roles, each bringing greater responsibility for people, financial performance, guest experience, operational execution, and business results. Currently serving as Marketplace Manager of Food & Beverage at Jamul Casino, Jesse is one of five FOH Managers responsible for the property’s direct, guest-facing food and beverage experience. He leads a 24/7, multi-concept Marketplace operation spanning burgers, coffee, taqueria, pizzeria, retail, and guest service. His direct operating scope includes 80+ team members and nine frontline leaders, while his role sits within a Food & Beverage organization of more than 600 team members. His responsibilities span workforce planning, labor scheduling, financial performance, inventory and procurement, vendor coordination, food safety and compliance, guest recovery, leadership development, and real-time operating decisions supporting more than 2,500 daily guest transactions. Beyond his direct operation, Jesse regularly contributes to broader departmental and property-level initiatives. His work has included collaboration with culinary, finance, human resources, information technology, surveillance, security, facilities, marketing, and executive leadership. He has supported remodel and layout planning, technology testing and implementation, financial controls, procurement, workforce contingency planning, operational risk reduction, and cross-functional problem solving in complex operating environments. Before entering casino hospitality, Jesse spent five years in store leadership with Ralphs/Kroger. In a senior store-level operating role, he led large teams and supported multiple Southern California locations. His responsibilities included workforce execution, merchandising, inventory, vendor management, customer experience, labor, and financial performance. That experience built a strong foundation in cost control, process discipline, large-team leadership, and high-volume retail operations. Jesse's leadership approach is centered on both people and performance. He believes strong teams are built through clear expectations, consistent coaching, visible leadership, accountability, recognition, and meaningful opportunities for development. His track record includes reducing employee turnover from approximately 40% to 15.4%, developing employees into frontline leadership and higher-career opportunities, achieving an 82.1 team satisfaction score above organizational target, managing seven-figure monthly operations, and leading teams through periods of significant growth, operational change, and extraordinary demand. Outside of his primary operating roles, Jesse has also contributed to entrepreneurial and business-development efforts through Driven Billboards. His involvement has included pricing strategy, market positioning, business planning, marketing, operational structure, and the development of scalable processes. That experience has broadened his perspective on how businesses are built, positioned, and evaluated beyond day-to-day operations. Jesse performs best in environments where operational complexity, workforce execution, guest experience, and financial discipline intersect. His approach is grounded in calm decision-making, measurable performance, strong leadership presence, continuous improvement, and consistent follow-through.