Bill Hansen

From catering for three U.S. Presidents, to Pope John Paul II, to champion Super Bowl teams, Bill Hansen brings over 45 years of catering, entrepreneurial and food service management experience to the Catersource team. A published author, Bill’s extensive expertise has made him one of the country’s leading food experts and Founder and CEO of one of South Florida’s top catering firms. His experience has also resulted in a new-found passion for helping young entrepreneurs develop and market new products and services. Bill earned a Bachelor of Science from Cornell’s world famous School of Hotel Administration and has a Masters of Science from Florida International University’s School of Hospitality Management. Right out of Cornell, Bill was commissioned as an Officer in the United States Navy where he proudly served his country running Officers’ Clubs and Bachelor Officers’ Quarters (hotels for military officers.) Here he learned systems and procedures while dealing with the crème de la crème of the military world, and overseeing the work of over 180 staffers before he reached his 25th birthday. Bill’s areas of expertise are in leadership, and management. In 1980, he founded Bills’ Catering with his best friend Bill Hendrich (now Bill Hansen Catering). In 1990, Bill began teaching Catering Management at Florida International. In 1995, he founded Leading Caterers of America at www.leadingcaterers.com, a group of over 500 caterers. The site’s goal is to help caterers and clients connect. After 30 years, Bill’s firm continues to prosper, while spawning scores of South Florida caterers along the way, including many former employees and students. The key to his success is Bill’s belief in training, empowering, and delegating to his key staffers. There is not a catering firm in South Florida that does not have a connection to Bill Hansen. And Bill welcomes the competition!!!! Ever expanding and growing with the times, Bill’s business includes Private Club Management, Concession Management and Mobile Foodservice Management. In 2008, Bill Hansen Catering opened an academic dining division, which caters 1,000 school lunches a day at two South Florida private schools. He is also the author of Off-Premise Catering Management, which is currently in its second edition, and is used as a catering bible here in the U.S. and overseas. Bill is married to his wife Terry of 26 plus years. They have a son Jim, who lives in Oxford, Connecticut, with his wife Joette. Bill enjoys exercise and golf. He completed the New York Marathon in 1982 at the 4 hour mark and continues to run today. Bill serves as a Founder’s Board Member at Mt. Sinai Hospital on Miami Beach and as well as on the board of the South Florida chapter of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurism, He actively participates in his church, The Shepherd’s Way (helping the recently and about-to-be homeless), Vistage South Florida, 6 Degress Golf, BNI (Business Networking International), and the Christian Community Foundation of South Florida. At 65 years young, Bill continues to shine in the catering world because he is passionate about life, his family, and his business. Bill loves helping others succeed, he loves the business of catering, he loves to consult for other caterers, and he loves to write and speak at conferences. Catering and Food are Bill’s life’s work, and his accomplishments are a testament to a lifetime of success!