Kesh Manton - Board Member
Business Development Manager - Quest Ballarat Station
You can email Kesh at ​sales.ballaratstation@questapartments.com.au

Kesh Manton’s strong work ethic can be attributed to the family catering business which saw her working from the age of 10 in food and beverage service and at special events.  Customer service was a strong point and she learnt quickly that manners and politeness led to positive interactions with customers.

 

A passion for food grew over the years and, whilst she once considered becoming a chef, she decided against it as a career, instead focusing on something else she was good at: Maths.

 

After completing her Mathematics degree at RMIT University, she found herself taking roles in customer service and exports for a large food business (including shipping Four ‘n’ Twenty pies to the Asia Pacific region).

 

A stint with a Federal Member of Parliament taught her a great deal about Australia’s democratic system and positioned her as the person who was first to address residents’ issues relating to immigration, social services and foreign affairs.

 

But there was a call in the back of her mind to return to her first love – Hospitality.  She combined this with tourism to achieve a Graduate Diploma at Victoria University, resulting in a new desire to work in accommodation management.

 

This took her on a path to Cairns to complete a hotel traineeship, before returning to Melbourne to become Front Office Manager of a 530-room hotel complex.  Other hotel roles included Corporate Business Development and Online Marketing.

 

A desire to once again live in regional Australia led her and her family to move to Ballarat where local roles included Conferencing & Events Manager at Novotel Forest Resort Creswick, Sales at Mercure Ballarat, and Group Marketing Manager at Jackson’s & Co.

 

Starting up her own business, MESH, as a Marketing and Events Specialists, her roles included Marketing & Sales for Kryal Castle and The George Hotel Ballarat, highlighted by her work in Event and Marketing Management for the Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival over 4 years.

 

Kesh joined the Plate Up Ballarat team in 2017 as PR Manager and Eat Drink West in 2018 as the Relationship Manager, as well as collaborating on various food and wine related events in Ballarat and the surrounding region.  She relished per pre-covid role with local Ballarat catering icon, Peter Ford Catering, in business development.

 

In 2020, she was very fortunate to return to the accommodation sector as Business Development Manager at Ballarat’s newest hotel, Quest Ballarat Station.  A role which she continues to enjoy today.