February 7, 2014
CEO Newsletter
Te3am,
Every so often you have an opportunity to do something really special. I would state that over the last half decade we have had more opportunities than most to reinvent our industry. I’d also state that they have not been wasted. Today I’m proud to state that we are going to put a dent in the Event Hospitality universe like never before.
On the heels of our brand repositioning of Making It Better to Be There and the acquisition of Heritage Portfolio Limited, I am delighted to announce that we have acquired the hospitality rights to the new stadium, set to open in 2016, for the Spanish football Club Atlético de Madrid, for the next twenty years. Not only did Centerplate secure this iconic property in partnership with ISG, we will also for the first time in our history be responsible for the entire premium ticket operation. Centerplate today became significantly more relevant to the client by moving from managing 5% of the Club revenues to 25%. This is a model we look forward to implementing in many sports facilities across North America and Europe in the years to come. There were many team members that played significant roles in getting this inked – congratulations to all involved in making it happen. I would especially like to recognize Bob Pascal and his team for organizing and putting on a world-class media launch, take a look at the ceremonial signing of the agreement at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgSfDVkxUoM
Working with Jeff Tandberg on this project will be Steve Cahoon, who will move temporarily to Madrid to provide executive team support for this critical growth initiative. A core team will be activated and we will share those details with you in the coming weeks.
Another significant milestone is the opening of our first Sophie’s at Saks Fifth Avenue in Chicago last Friday. Perched on the 7th floor of the Michigan Avenue Saks, the restaurant features an extraordinary view of downtown Chicago, a display kitchen, a sophisticated cool design (see attached photos and press release) and superb seasonal cuisine. Our top customer event was a roaring success with our Saks Chicago client calling it “a truly great night and a wonderful partnership!” An outstanding start by our local team of Executive Chef Ron Aleman, Chef Bo Counts, Michel Gabbud, and April Popp! Every department of Centerplate played a vital role in the creation of the Sophie’s brand and the opening of the restaurant with special recognition to Todd Andrews, Terri Antley, Dan Carlone, Janine Desposito, Katie DeVantier, Bill Donovan, Diana Evans, Cathy Green, Brenda Helps, April Holland, John Johnson, Lila Kahn, Michael Krstovic, Rich Laurette, Tre Lucas, Jennifer McLucas, Charlie Pashley, Alexander Powell, Executive Chef Alex Reyes, Leigh Russo, Kiersten Seufer, Senior Executive Chef David Skorka, Angela Sloan, Rachael Vierling, Brian Walters, Leslie Williams, David Winarski, Eric Wooden and Steve Ziegler.
Let’s celebrate for a moment and then get down to the important work of making these two growth opportunities key differentiators for our enterprise. As they say in Spain – adelante!
To remain the best we must elevate our commitment to talent development. I am pleased that 78% of our full time employees have completed their performance self-assessment; however that also means 22% have not yet done so. Remember deeds not words define us. I will follow up personally with those who have not completed their assessment by Tuesday, 2/11 – I hope I’m not making any calls.
Onwards!
