To understand the event’s immersive impact, it is telling to revisit the very last hour when leadership teams were tasked with processing what they learned and reporting on how they would use the takeaways. Each team treated the assignment as if in battle against the other, a nod to the competitive spirit evoked by the relaunch of the World Wide Challenge. The teams were moved; the energy was palpable. So invigorated by the knowledge gained, one team leader became animated with a cathartic release of gratefulness, a genuine display of the event’s effect and the winning moment for his team.
The resounding success of the two-day Summit solidified its annual occurrence with the 2024 event scheduled for January of next year. The following is a glimpse of what attendees learned, why they became so impassioned, and how Areas will be “Igniting the Future.”
Day One, March 20, 2023
Carlos Bernal, CEO of Areas USA, revved the audience with a look at how far we have come, reinforced by major new contract wins and why we are set to double the size of our company within the next few years. He emphasized core principles that will reinforce our foundations like hiring the best talent, being the best partners, becoming better stewards of our environment, optimizing costs, improving our cash conversion, and getting leaner. And let’s not forget about the importance of fundamentals and being brilliant at basics. Adhere to these standards and we will be more than prepared for our projected growth.
Richard Schneider, Chief Development Officer, spoke from a development perspective on growth and why Areas is well-positioned to seize on the many upcoming opportunities available in airports. The spirit of collaboration, forging new ACDBE partnerships, and becoming more involved with every community we serve will continue to drive our successes. Adding to the winning mix is Areas’ fortified business development team who will be instrumental in securing significant new business. He points out that in 2023 alone, 14 major US airports will be issuing new RFPs and Areas is prepared to bid on the ones that are a good fit.
Alberto Serratos, Vice President of Finance and Jaqueline Bolanos, Director of Accounting gave an informative overview of the responsibilities of people we need to know on the Finance team. Financial wizard Alberto leads the team, but if you ever have questions about our banking services you would ask Johann Guerrero the Director of Treasury. Need to know about Areas taxes? Ask Laura Larios, Senior Manager of Finance. How about questions on activities having to do with accounting? Ask Jacky Bolanos. For planning questions, it’s Miquel Garriga, director of financial planning.
Gerry Fernandez, CEO & Founder of the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance spoke candidly on the importance of acknowledging diversity and learning how to embrace it to grow the business. He offered a framework for how to drive positive change in Areas’ strategy for promoting greater Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIB). Gerry will be helping Areas develop a solid foundation for our DIB program and explains his framework for getting us started. It’s called ELEVATE and it’s an acronym that stands for: Explain your business case; Listen and Learn from your data; Enlist stakeholders and resources; Verify goals and success metrics; Advertise your work; Test your results and Engage your employees.
Clint Westbrook, Chief Operating Officer, family man, avid golfer, volleyball enthusiast, dog lover (see more about Clint in this issue of My Areas), introduced Steve Byrne, Vice President of Concepts and Standards who talked about achieving operational excellence by being brilliant at the basics. He points out that just one year ago only 70% of total units were open. Today that number is up to 97%. He attributes this to the hiring of talented staff who receive quality training and are treated with respect. Additionally, our focus on the guest experience, culinary forward menus, and operational measures have all contributed to year-over-year increases in sales, ticket averages, volume transactions, and productivity measures.
Paula Antich, Director of Marketing and Kim Condon, Manager of Guest Services were exceptional advocates for the Areas World Wide Challenge. The audience was excited to learn about the relaunch of the global competition which began on March 20th. Paula and Kim explained that this year nine coaches will lead nine different leagues with the goal of increasing the number of items sold per transaction compared to the same period last year. The results of three active challenges requiring the upsell of specific items as well as additional challenges created by each team will determine the winner.
To keep the momentum flowing, cash prizes and special getaways will be awarded to individuals throughout the competition. The winner in the US will go to the WW Challenge finals in Barcelona in January or February 2024 to compete against winners from Areas’ nine other countries. The ultimate winner of the finals will become the World Wide Champion for 2023 and have the honor of attending the 2024 Paris Olympics. For questions and more information contact Paula at: paula.antich@areas.com or Kim at: kim.condon@areas.com.
Day Two, March 21, 2023
Global CEO Oscar Vela and Mathieu Herrero, Director of Concepts and Standards shared the global perspective on Areas’ strengths. Oscar highlighted important developments augmenting our growth around the world, including the latest acquisition of French motorway company, Sighor and Areas’ win of the $1 billion food and beverage contract at Madrid. He pointed out that in February 2023 global revenues reached 108% of 2019 revenues; opportunities abound worldwide with 42 major RFPs in 26 airports and while our budgeted EBITDA stands at 55M€ ($60M) our goal is to reach 100M€ ($110M).
Mathieu engaged the group on why Areas is so unique and how we stand apart from our competitors, i.e. we are exceptional at being more human than corporate and more agile than rigid on a scale measuring these factors. That makes us a great place to work and able to successfully play out our entrepreneurial spirit. Additionally, Areas is not all about the P&L; we focus on non-financials such as our Areas for Change efforts where advancements on social and environmental issues are essential to the core of our business. We also pay sincere homage to our other spirit pillars of belonging, collaboration, and excellence.
Lee Litherland, Director of Business Application Development made sense of the new technologies launched in conjunction with CrunchTime. Through Areas’ implementation of CrunchTIme, Simphony 2, Sales integration, SAP, Wepex, FDK, Thetys, and Diapason, the company has advanced into a modern technological realm giving us more data power and efficiencies than ever before. These systems have created a foundation that has positioned us well for the future growth we expect.
Celebrated author and successful entrepreneur, Dee Robinson, Founder and President of Robinson Hill in Chicago captivated the audience with her guidance on how to overcome fears and the reality that we all have them—including CEOs and high-level leaders. She spoke about the “10 commandments” for overcoming fear and finding joy, fulfillment, and purpose in your life, the sub-theme of her recently released book, Courage by Design. She connected with the audience on how to get control of fear and move past it by becoming your own CEO. As a partner of Areas in Chicago, she understands the parts of our culture that are setting us up for success including the inherent diversity of our teams and our can- and will-do attitude.
Anthony Paserchia, Director of Asset Protection and Risk Management, spoke about the value of adhering to Areas safety standards and best practices. We have experienced an 86% reduction in the average cost of closed workman’s comp claims and a $1.5M savings in claims losses since 2018. He attributes these savings to several factors including:
- Ensuring our teams use the proper shoes, cut gloves, heat gloves/oven mitts etc.
- Properly completing the Daily Safety Scans
- Monthly safety committee meetings
- Weekly accident calls and daily safety topics
- Educating our associates on the importance of workplace safety
- Showing our associates, we care about their safety and well being
George Garcia, Vice President of People, Talent and Culture and Michele Garcia, Director of Learning and Development were superb program coordinators and emcees throughout the two-day Summit. They closed with a recap of the event and an emphasis on our most important asset: our people. Being brilliant at the basics and building our leadership base includes empowering our associates, hiring the right people, and creating a culture of recognition.
The event culminated with a relaxing dinner party at the stylish Barbakoa by Finka featuring delicious Latin-Asian cuisine and a live Latin band that inspired many in the group to move to the music and unwind from a very successful and impactful Leadership Summit.
For a look at highlights of the Summit, watch this video.