CEO Newsletter
CEO Newsletter
Team,
You may have heard that we helped to host a football game in Santa Clara …
What a spectacular showing on the world’s biggest stage from our all-star team at Levi’s Stadium for Super Bowl 50! It was truly an honor for me to greet the talented group of team members—some of whom traveled from faraway places to lend a hand and ensure our best work was on display. The food and beverage stories alone generated more than 140,000,000 impressions online, in print, and across broadcast channels, ranging from CBS, ESPN, and the NFL Network to Food and Wine and even InStyle magazine—all fixated on the culinary program of Chefs Jesus Cibrian, Dinari Brown and Santana Diaz.
As I gazed at the group assembled in front of me, I could only marvel at the talent and experience we have in our organization. I personally can’t ever remember a time when I was more confident of our assured success. There are too many names to mention and I know that I’d end up missing someone. So instead of offending anyone, I’d just like to say thanks to all of you who assisted. What an incredible company we have! I cannot, however, skip heaping praise on Mike Dubey, Dac Carbone, Randy Brubaker, Gary Prell and the entire local team (with an assist from Greg Fender and Sal Ferrulo), and thanking them for coordinating and executing the best Super Bowl yet.
Of course, I also want to congratulate our clients and Super Bowl Champs, the Denver Broncos. Not only did our Centerplate team at Sports Authority Field, led by Justin Kizima, Laurence Rua and Chef DeJohn, host two “huge” playoff games, they also made the trip to Levi’s to lend a hand and to ensure that the Broncos executives received the same familiar hospitality that they get at home.
This is exactly the type of teamwork, performance, and excellence under pressure that makes me proud to lead this organization—it’s a great opening to 2016! Let’s all hope for another Super Bowl contract announcement at the next NFL owner’s meeting.
There’s more good news to share as well: on the new business front, we will be announcing a major new account in the week ahead. Kay Towner, in characteristic style, enlisted the entire Northeast Region (only kidding, but close) in a show of force that landed New York’s famous Jones Beach State Park (“The Capital of New York Summers” and home to 6 million annual beachgoers) by a margin of more than 100 points—impressing the state in the process and putting us on a path to open before Memorial Day Weekend! Special thanks on this project to Dave Sugrue, Peter Schoener and Rick Biglin, as well as the Hospitality Solutions Group, for helping to bring this home. Another great team effort!
Our “Around Me” program has also brought success with 2 new accounts being added to our portfolio. We are finalizing a partnership with the United States Tennis Association for the hospitality services at the new Home of American Tennis in Orlando, Florida. The multi-court complex includes a lodge for future tennis greats and will host local and regional tournaments with future aspirations of a stadium for professional USTA events. Congratulations to Doug Conner, Gary Wattie and all involved in bringing this one home!
Bobby Dichiaro has pulled double duty with the successful addition of the Hagerstown Suns of the Southern Atlantic League to our MiLB roster and the early renewal of our contract with the Wilmington Blue Rocks for an additional five years. Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown, MD is considered one of the oldest minor league parks in the country and was previously self-operated. Kudos to Bobby, GM Wayne Duprey and our team at the Blue Rocks!
Sticking to contract news for a moment longer: last month, we also signed a renewal with Hanauma Bay and Paradise Cove in Hawaii, thanks to the efforts of Mike Dubey and Roger Reeves. I also had the great privilege of finalizing an extension with Seattle Mariners CEO Kevin Mather over breakfast in Seattle, after hearing nothing but praise for GM Steve Dominguez and the Centerplate team at Safeco Field.
While on the West Coast, I met with our client at the Portland Timbers—another league champion—who shared how valuable our leadership team, headed by GM Ben Forsythe, is in creating the best fan experience in Major League Soccer.
Greg Fender and I also traveled to the beautiful Vancouver Convention Centre, where our GM/RVP Andrew Pollard, Executive Chef Blair Rasmussen, and their incredibly talented team flawlessly hosted PCMA—some of the world’s most influential venue leaders, CVB members, meeting planners and guests (including a number of existing clients) that we will ever serve. Many of you may remember Deborah Sexton, the CEO of PCMA, as a guest speaker at our Annual Conference in New Orleans last year. With 4,000 attendees over the course of 3 solid days of events, complete with impossible timing for breakdown/setups, the Centerplate team left Deborah and her colleagues speechless (in a very good way)! I would be remiss if I didn’t add that Andrew’s team was assisted by Paul McArdle our GM at BC Place and Nelson Drake our GM at Whistler Conference Centre. While speaking with our client at the VCC, CEO Ken Cretney, he was especially complimentary of the Centerplate team.
Let’s keep this momentum going!
In a couple of weeks, many of us will be attending our Global Conference at the Pasadena Convention Center. Doug Finney and his team have been working diligently on a plan to provide us with an extraordinary event (no pressure Doug). Jill Crowe has been coordinating all the travel, accommodations and agenda activities—our theme this year is G.O.A.L:16.
We’re off to a great start, and I look forward to hearing what each of you will be bringing to the table in the months ahead.
Thanks again everyone, I’ll see you “really” soon …
