A message from Richard: Today is not goodbye, but a hello to new beginnings

Dear All,

Today my role with CCL Hospitality Group is officially over. My role as a strategic advisor has run its course. I want to take a moment to reflect on my personal journey and the journey of the organization, as I stand here at the edge of a new beginning.

It has been a great run for me. More than two decades ago, in 2001, I began Unidine Corporation as the founder and CEO with a vision to disrupt the food/dining management and support services industries. I believed and still believe in the importance of service excellence, high standards, and culinary-driven programs. I know that culture is what made us special and unique.

As Larry Senn, founder of Senn Delaney, put it so succinctly, “Culture is not an initiative. Culture is the enabler of all initiatives.” As the founder and CEO of Unidine Corporation, my goal was to provide the right environment so that those ideas could thrive, to curate the values that drove our strategy, and to empower smart decision-making at every level.

I built Unidine on the belief that we could be leaders in the food/dining and support services industries by focusing on quality and going beyond what was expected. We succeeded in that vision. We disrupted the industry and made positive changes for the clients we serve. I am incredibly proud of what we set out to do and the way that we accomplished it.?

In 2017, we partnered with Compass Group , USA. This partnership gave us a larger platform to expand the core values of culture and quality service, and to grow our vision. After Unidine Corporation joined Compass Group, we formed Compass Community Living. As the founder and CEO of Compass Community Living, my focus was service excellence, culture, and brand consistency over three unique brands. When we formed CCL, that larger vision was realized.?

These last few months, I have had no input on the direction the company has chosen to take. I’ve observed over the past six months how the ecosystem of company culture, once carefully nurtured into a place where team members were empowered to make discretionary decisions to achieve a common mission, can be thrown out of balance. How vulnerable culture can be when those values are not recognized.?

History is fundamental to culture. As Bill Dauphinais, co-founder of Lucha Capital Management, puts it, “Brands are built around stories. And stories of identity – who we are, where we’ve come from – are the most effective stories of all.” You can’t know where you’re going as a company without the story of where you have been to guide you. When a company toys with history, when they remove what makes a company unique, they’re toying with brand consistency.

Without high standards and strong leadership, an organization will fail. Howard Schultz, founder and former CEO of Starbucks, said, “You can’t expect your employees to exceed the expectations of your customers if you don’t exceed the employees’ expectations of management.” If tone from the top isn’t there, if culture is not prioritized - it is impossible to thrive.?

Google experienced this in 2019, when the established values of transparency and trust were compromised by leadership. Long-time employees left in droves, unwilling to commit to a company that had in their eyes abandoned the very values that had led them to work there in the first place. Even those outside the company took notice. Martin Casado, partner at Andreessen Horowitz, tweeted, “What the hell is going on over there? The brain drain at Google right now is astonishing.”

This is the price companies pay when culture is not at the forefront. When the values that drive retention and growth are left behind. Culture is not optional - IT IS EVERYTHING!!!

During my time at Unidine Corporation and Compass Community Living, I have been surrounded by people who exemplify the qualities that built our organization.

We had a team that believed in our vision and because of that, we succeeded. We created something special, that grew exponentially, and that growth positively impacted our employees, our clients, and our shareholders. I leave with pride for what we built together based on a belief in culture, excellence and brand consistency.

We experienced rapid growth by spending time and money on the right people. We delivered on service excellence and shareholder value precisely because we understood that the importance of culture could not be overestimated.

I want to thank all my team members, clients, individuals and other partners who embraced the core values and beliefs that I built Unidine and CCL on. It is what made us who we were. My gratitude for the opportunity to have worked with such an aligned, effective, and committed team is immeasurable.

It is with great excitement that I am ready to start divulging the direction I am headed with my next venture - I can let you know now, it will be sharply focused on culture, brand consistency, and excellence in service. This next chapter will be a continuation of building something that disrupts the marketplace, challenges norms, and exceeds expectations.

Today is not goodbye, but a hello to new beginnings.?

I’ll be sharing more details in this space soon.

Warm Regards,

Richard