Ok, maybe not a bar but a big celebration that is basically the worlds largest bar – New Orleans at Mardi Gras. Little did I know this would be an ongoing theme. So this brief post is about me… who am I and why do I fit into this hospitality business. Hopefully this gives some insight and a bit of insight into getting things done.
During undergraduate, several decades ago (huge sigh), I was at the Krewe of Caesar Mardi Gras ball. Balls and Krewes are steeped in tradition that one has to experience to really get the full flavor of it. Its an experience to say the least. I wandering the ballroom of some 6,000 people and noticed this wonderful older couple in the corner seemingly having a good time – she was dancing by herself and he was nursing a cocktail. Of all the masses, I somehow stumbled on them. I approached and asked if they were having a good time, exchanged small-talk and continued to see them throughout the evening. As memory serves, we never discussed professions at all.
That particular year, the Krewe of Caesar was themed by The Walt Disney Company complete with Mickey as the anointed King. What a site this was to see Mickey on top of a Mardi Gras float with a crown. And what a risk for the Disney Company to be associated with Mardi Gras. Mickey and his colleagues of costumed adorn cast members were on floats parading through Metairie (suburb of New Orleans). As far as I know, this was their first… and last venture into the vice-filled celebration known as Mardi Gras. Not sure if it is by design, image policing or what, but a cursory search for Mickey Mouse and Krewe of Caesar did not pull any images and only a few mentions.
Anyway, as I recall, I was walking to the elevator to leave and the couple I got to know through the night was next to me. The gentleman asked me what I planned on doing after I graduated and I said (at the time this was the statement to make) “I’m going to Disney World”. Come to find out this gentleman was the Chief Marketing Officer for the Walt Disney Company Hospitality Division. The Grand Poobah for a guy like me who adored Disney, hospitality and all things associated. I was in shock and disbelief. He gave me his card and said something to the effect of “..give me a call sometime…” I’ll never forget that moment even though the rest of the evening was a bit foggy.
So you guessed it. Not long after that encounter I mustered up the nerve to apply for Disney and was accepted. I began my work as a Lifeguard at Typhoon Lagoon and often ventured into the world of marketing even though I was completely green to the field. I went back to LSU to continue my grad work in the field of marketing and fell in love with the analytical components as well as the more subjective components. In those days it was the study of ‘multi-variate data analysis’ and ‘consumer behavior’. I thought it was amazing that the tools existed that allowed me to map an image of a brand!!!
That lead to an interview with a new casino company that was opening up near Baton Rouge. Grand Casinos. I was hired on as a marketing analyst for a company, founded by a successful entrepreneur and professional poker player. I reported to the property VP of Marketing and had a dotted line to one of the smartest, and beautiful, person I had the pleasure of working with – Richard Scheutz – the CMO of Grand Casinos, Inc. My career path took me to Minnesota where I eventually became the Director of Corporate Marketing over eight casino resorts across the US.
After that adventure came to an end with the sale of Grand Casinos to Hilton Gaming (now Caesars Palace), I found myself as the Director of Corporate Marketing for a start-up company called Rainforest Cafe, Inc. That brand took off with an IPO and eventually 32 locations across the US including two at Walt Disney World, eventually sold to Landry’s Inc. My next chapter found me in Toronto, Ontario Canada with the holding company for The Second City, a renowned improv comedy troupe with an impressive roster of alumni including Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Dan Ackroyd, Mike Meyers, Tina Fey and John Candy. The gentleman I worked for was one of John Candy’s pallbearers. I was the ‘marketing guy’ which was literally my title in the holding company that included gaming, entertainment, events, publishing, restaurants and video production. My responsibilities were never really outlined as I was among fellow “jump in and do it” types. A great culture for someone like me – but not for everyone. I helped build experiences there that included corporate communications training, benefit concerts, market expansion, etc. That adventure lasted until 9/11 when high-tailed it back to Minneapolis swearing I would never travel again.
Ha, that was wishful thinking.
The casino business is one that keeps pulling you back in. You’re never far from those – especially in the early days of emerging gaming – that you worked with. Being a part of the Fastest Growing Company in North America according to Forbes – as Grand Casinos was deemed – you get a reputation for knowing what you’re doing. As a result I was called to do a contract consulting role for Apache Gold Casino Resort in Eastern Arizona. I was to fly out there once a month for 5-7 days and help with the marketing efforts. One thing lead to another and I morphed into a contract marketing management company providing said services to Apache Gold, a jazz festival, a hot air balloon festival, and a concert promoting agency. I had my own little marketing and management firm that was doing quite well.
Not being able to say ‘NO’ to any opportunity (and I’ll spare the details) I soon found my way to Manila, Philippines where I was assisting the Philippine government in the establishment of an Economic Freeport supported by casino resort developments. This happened to be the same time Macau was blowing up in terms of casino development, license shopping and US gaming operators being courted for expansion in Asia. I rode that experience, assisting several well-known brands through the nuances of Asian politics, customs and hospitality business practices. It was one hell of an adventure in the fast lane that had me traveling all over Asia, Central and South America leveraging hospitality based businesses for economic engines. I was on the top tier of almost all international airlines I-fly-way-too-much clubs and have amassed enough stories and lessons to fill a book (or two).
Somewhere around 2011-2012 I came back to the U.S. from Hong Kong (where I was located at the time) because, among other things, Dad was not doing well. He had Parkinson’s. You see, he was my best friend and the one who arguably had the greatest impact on my hospitality career. He was the head of operations for a family business (Piccadilly Cafeterias, Inc.) that built 110 restaurants, acquired another 100+, went public and even more importantly, built a well established reputation as professional operators. Dad built a world class training program and instilled in me core hospitality lessons. He retired from the business over a decade before I came back to stay with him through his battle with Parkinson’s. I needed to tap on the breaks a bit.
That brings us to today where I am an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Arkansas school of Hospitality Management. I also am a partner in Cardinal Capital where we find money for businesses of all types – including in the hospitality space – across the Country. Both vocations allow me to participate while also attending to my Mom who is battling cancer. Dad passed not long after I came back.
So that is how I got started… it started in a bar and grew from there. It’s been wonderful and I’m now looking for my next adventure in Hospitality. It’s provided a wealth of experience and knowledge that I still am as passionate about today as I was in those early days in school.
