CEO Newsletter

CEO Newsletter
Steven Pangburn

Steven Pangburn -

Team,

We’ve had a great start to FY20, jumping into major renewals, football season, and a busy convention year right off the bat.

I’m pleased to share with you some of the exciting initiatives that have been undertaken to drive our business, delight our guests, and differentiate our company from the competition. Led by Carmen Callo, our best-in-class culinary team has been refining menus and working on beverage pairings. We will hold training sessions on new programs and tools to help manage our business. We are continuing to invest in innovation – from new technologies to cashless payments and plant-forward menus – and our executive team has been focused on strategic planning for a more competitive future.

Innovations in the Field

We’ve had great stories coming from accounts launching exciting innovations.

A pizza-making robot launched at T-Mobile Park in Seattle and it made national headlines on its trial run as the first autonomous pizza-maker in a pro sports facility.

Capable of turning out 300 pizzas an hour, the robot drew plenty of happy fans and media attention.

Raleigh was buzzing last month with the launch of its new beehives at the Raleigh Convention Center and Duke Energy Center, joining the growing portfolio of apiaries that we have in our sports & leisure portfolio.

Sustainability Programs

Following up on the great attention we received at this year’s IAVM conference, we are continuing to make advancements in sustainability throughout the portfolio. Sustainability Director Molly Crouch is heading our WasteWatch pilot initiatives, focused on reducing waste. Hard Rock Stadium has launched a plastic-free initiative with the upcoming Super Bowl in mind. Finally, Michael Barrett will join our Baltimore Convention Center client to discuss our team’s support of the new training and food rescue programs at the PCMA Convening Leaders Conference in January for meeting planners in San Francisco.

Global CRM Data

Next month, Sodexo’s Global CRM will go live on Salesforce. The new system will bring together Sodexo’s client management data in a centralized platform. What does it mean for you?

Senior Operations team members will be trained on this in the coming months (more to come later). In the meantime, if you have had a change to your client team – or just haven’t updated the client list in a while – please send the new names and/or contact info to Virginia Elkins (Virginia.Elkins@Centerplate.com). 

Strategic Targeting

Last month, senior leadership and Line of Business Leaders gathered to set sales targets and the pipeline for the years ahead. We are taking an aggressive account-based approach, meaning we identify the strategic priorities and accounts that fulfill them in advance. We still strongly encourage participation in the “Around Me” program, to help drive our new business development and reach our collective target this year of $40 million.

Global Sports & Leisure Webinar

Thank you to all who tuned in to watch our Global Sports & Leisure segment webinar last month. We heard nothing but exciting events from our colleagues around the globe. From Super Bowl Prep to the opening of the Eiffel Tower to the Rugby World Cup in Japan, this is a blockbuster year for our segment. If you missed it, or want to watch it again, you can access the video here.

Congratulations on a Safer Year!

I’m delighted to share that our segment has met our LTIR reduction targets, meaning fewer colleagues missed work due to injury this year compared with FY18. As you will remember, LTIR is an important metric in our overall financial performance, so thank you for making that happen! We have a new target to reduce LTIR by 9% this year, so please remember to reinforce safety in all aspects of our operation, and empower your teams to have a safe day, every day.

Clients for Life: Attitudes & Actions Training

Rich Mitzner just hosted a great session on Attitudes & Actions as part of the Clients for Life Training program in Baltimore for GMs and operational executives. The last in-person session will take place in Indianapolis on October 24. Please contact Shelley Shackleford if you need to schedule participation.

Music Licenses: Staying Compliant with Live Bands and Mood Music

If you hire live bands (or work with a promoter), or even stream music into an event space, the legal department has put together a brief on how to comply with licensing laws around music and entertainment (see attached).

Welcome Aboard!

Please also join me in welcoming new additions to our team. Larry Ross has joined the marketing team as Regional Marketing Manager, working with our venues in the eastern half of North America. The Pasadena Convention Center also formally announced Regional Executive Chef Jon Dubrick has taken the helm as the Center’s executive chef.

More Sports & Leisure in the News: 

With all that’s going on, please don’t lose focus on creating extraordinary experiences for clients and guests. I’m thrilled with the great start to this fiscal year and look forward to a strong year. We can only accomplish great things by working together to drive performance and define a new standard of excellence.

All my best to you and your teams,

Steve Pangburn

Interim CEO

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