Clete began his career with Aramark in 1991 as Assistant Food Service Director at Abraham Baldwin College. Over his tenure with Aramark, Clete has been promoted to positions of increasing responsibility including being the General Manager at Toccoa Falls College, Director of Operations at Clemson University, Senior GM at Western Carolina University, and Resident District Manager at James Madison University. While at JMU, the dining program received national acclaim: a rating by the Princeton Review as among the top five quality dining programs in the country. He was later promoted to District Manager in the Mid-Atlantic Region, overseeing the dining operations of six dining accounts in Virginia and West Virginia. He then led Aramark’s dining operations at High Point University, leading that team to the highest customer service rankings in the country for Aramark Higher Education. Clete then spent nine years in the East Region overseeing thirteen dining accounts in North Carolina and Virginia.

Clete led the transition for Aramark at the University of South Carolina and has been the Resident District Manager since 2017. During this time, Clete has led the transformation of the Russell House renovation, implementation of two fully licensed Starbucks, the addition of mobile ordering, renovations of Gibbes Court Bistro, Fresh Greene’s and Community Table. He has also expanded convenience retailing by adding five Gamecock General store to the campus. Clete was instrumental in implementing new meal plan strategies and implementing Swipe Out Hunger on campus. Since 2018 Clete has served on the Dean’s Leadership Council for the HRSM school and is a member of the Corporate Partnerships Committee. He has also participated in developing and reestablishing the contract management class as part of the HRSM curriculum. Clete was recognized by University Housing and awarded the Outstanding Campus Partner Award. Clete was also recognized by former President Caslen for his efforts during the Pandemic. This past year Clete was recognized by Aramark and presented an award for Developing Leadership and Talent.

A native of Beaufort, South Carolina, Clete graduated from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration.