When Warren Thompson visits new managers and leaders of the eating places owned by his firm, he usually asks: Do you describe your self as a company particular person or an entrepreneur?
It isn’t a trick query. No actual proper or flawed. However Thompson (MBA ’83) clearly favors one reply.
“I’m searching for that one that would say they’re extra of an entrepreneurial-type particular person, which means they’re going to take calculated dangers to maneuver the corporate forward,” he mentioned throughout a current interview on the Reston, Virginia, headquarters of Thompson Hospitality Corp.
“That’s why you’re right here at present,” he advised a current gathering of managers. “You’re prepared to query the established order. You’re prepared to interrupt the mildew and give you a distinct or higher approach to do it, and I don’t need you to lose that.’”
That sort of lively, adventurous spirit has served Thompson effectively. Throughout a dialogue with The Darden Report of his enterprise philosophies, entrepreneurship and management, a theme emerges repeatedly of taking aggressive-but-smart probabilities that result in greater successes and extra alternatives.
- In a partnership promoting produce along with his father at age 15, Thompson figured he might increase the enterprise and get extra apples and peaches, sooner, from Nelson County orchards to the market in Tidewater if he purchased a faculty bus for a cut price value and eliminated the seats to create cupboard space. The concept labored.
- Whereas managing the airport foodservice enterprise for Marriott within the late Eighties, Thompson led a group that opened the primary nationwide model eating places like Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in LaGuardia and JFK airports in New York. The enterprise was successful. Immediately, such eating places are a staple in most airports.
- Thompson Hospitality launched in 1992 with the acquisition of greater than 30 Massive Boy’s eating places from Marriott, changing them to the Shoney’s model. When these eating places didn’t develop as deliberate, Thompson needed to act. He accelerated his long-range plan to get into the contract foodservice enterprise. That transfer paid off, and the contract facet of the corporate would turn out to be its main income, supercharged by a partnership with Compass Group beginning in 1997.
Fifty years and numerous enterprise experiences and classes for the reason that produce-selling enterprise, Thompson, 65, finds himself on the different finish of the profession journey, considering retirement, succession-planning and life after constructing an organization that has grown into the nation’s largest minority owned foodservice and services administration firm.
Thompson Hospitality employs greater than 6,000 folks and generates annual income of practically $1 billion. It owns greater than 70 eating places (together with investments in Ralph Sampson’s American Faucet Room and The Ridley in Charlottesville), offers contract foodservice and services administration providers to increased training and company companions. Warren Thompson is president and chairman of the board.
“If you begin an organization, you’ve received extra time than cash. If you’re getting towards the top of the corporate, you might have extra money than you might have time,” he mentioned of his present perspective. “I’ve to make each minute depend.”
Thompson enjoys a second along with his spouse, Danielle, and daughter, Skylar, through the October grand opening of the Hen Quarter Prime restaurant in Washington, DC.
That motivation comes from each ends of the life cycle. Thompson and his spouse, Danielle, began a household later than most, and he brightens instantly when speaking about his 4-year-old daughter, Skylar, whom the couple adopted when she was an toddler. He describes her each as a typical, energetic pre-kindergartner who loves “Bluey” and ballet, and as a curious daughter of a enterprise govt who typically accompanies him to eating places and spots issues that want consideration.
“She’s turning into part of the enterprise now,” Thompson chuckles. “She goes round and greets. She’ll ask them how the meal is, or she’ll go along with her mom and are available again and provides me a report.”
On the opposite finish of the spectrum, Thompson, who performed basketball throughout his undergraduate years at Hampden-Sydney Faculty earlier than attending the Darden Faculty of Enterprise, is sobered by two hip replacements this 12 months and extra so by the lack of outdated pals.
“Each roommates that I had in faculty have handed,” he mentioned. “Occasions like that in life trigger you to assume much more about it. I need the corporate to have the ability to thrive and transfer to the subsequent degree, and I consider another person will likely be higher positioned to do this.”
Planning for Succession
Creating a plan for the way forward for Thompson Hospitality is slightly behind the unique timeline. The Covid pandemic paused that exercise as the corporate – like so many in hospitality, foodservice and associated industries – needed to discover methods to maneuver when the pandemic decimated the service economic system.
Right here once more, Thompson mentioned classes from his earliest entrepreneurial experiences supplied steerage. That first job along with his father wasn’t nearly fruit. In addition they marketed greens and raised hogs for a meatpacking plant. The diversified revenue stream made sense then, and it made sense later, as Thompson Hospitality expanded from its begin as a restaurant firm to a agency that provides providers to a number of sectors, operates eating places and, now, lodges.
When the pandemic arrived, the technique supplied stability.
“When Covid hit, we didn’t exit of enterprise like many restaurant corporations,” he mentioned. “I discovered that at a really early age – to not have all the things in a single basket.”
As soon as the economic system leveled, Thompson returned consideration to what was subsequent for him and for the corporate he established 32 years in the past.
The primary section has one other Darden connection. Chief Monetary Officer Ali Azimi plans to retire on the finish of 2024 and will likely be succeeded by Joe Lawler (EMBA ‘18), at present senior vp for technique and finance.
“He occurs to be a Darden alum, so it labored out completely,” Thompson mentioned with a smile.
Succession plans are being developed for different key management positions, and Thompson expects to transition from his position within the subsequent three to 5 years.
“It’s powerful. I don’t ever see myself completely out of the corporate, however taking a backseat place. And I believe we’ll be in a very good place to do this,” he mentioned.
A Basis to Construct On
In a lifetime of learning-while-doing, Thompson mentioned his mother and father, Fred and Ruby Thompson, supplied the muse that enabled his successes.
“I discovered early on simply watching my mother and father,” he mentioned.
Thompson pictured along with his sister, Benita, and brother, Fred, throughout his 1983 Darden Faculty commencement ceremony.
Each have been public college lecturers. The household lived within the Sixties and ‘70s in what was then a nonetheless largely segregated group of Windsor, positioned close to Suffolk, Virginia, in Isle of Wight County. Thompson recalled working at an area ironmongery shop the place Black staff weren’t allowed to run a money register till his mom and her sister confronted the administration. “She was gutsy,” he mentioned of his mom.
Along with displaying him enterprise fundamentals and instilling an indefatigable work ethic in his son, Fred Thompson Sr. transferred a aggressive drive that might keep on with the youthful Thompson by his profession.
“My father was my finest good friend rising up. He was a math instructor. We performed math video games, we performed sports activities, but it surely was aggressive,” he mentioned. “I’m very aggressive as effectively. If I get right into a enterprise, I wish to dominate.”
Thompson has a sister, Benita Thompson-Byas and brother, Fred Thompson Jr., each of whom additionally serve in govt management roles with Thompson Hospitality and have been with the corporate practically since its 1992 founding.
His mother and father each earned levels from Virginia State College. That connection – and his curiosity in encouraging numerous college students to pursue faculty levels and take into account careers in enterprise and entrepreneurship – continues to inspire Thompson to supply some $4 million yearly in scholarships and monetary assist to HBCUs, traditionally black schools and universities.
‘Paying It Ahead’
Thompson’s firm additionally prides itself on utilizing licensed numerous suppliers on some 30% of its purchases. It purchases from and mentors small companies, and women- and minority-owned corporations. “Our personal expertise has proven us the significance and energy of provider range, and we’re dedicated to paying it ahead,” Benita Thompson-Byas advised Black Enterprise journal in 2023.
Warren Thompson mentioned his firm is deeply dedicated to being a various and inclusive office – ideas ingrained in him by his life experiences, together with seeing the results of racial discrimination on his mother and father and through his personal profession. Immediately’s widening societal divisions – together with over the worth of range in enterprise and different settings – troubles Thompson.
His response at Thompson Hospitality and with its companions and purchasers: Present the enterprise worth.
“I all the time say in our firm, we have now by no means talked about the phrases ‘range program.’ I don’t ever recall having a gathering to say, let’s discover our range numbers,” he mentioned. “It’s simply part of our tradition. Our enterprise mannequin has all the time been that we current a greater choice to the shopper. We are saying to that shopper, we perceive your buyer higher than anybody else. So, we make the enterprise case, not the variety case, as to why.”
Darden Connections and Influences
A former member of the Darden Faculty Basis Board of Trustees and founding father of the Dean’s Range Advisory Council, Thompson established the Warren M. Thompson Scholarship at Darden, helps the Marietta and Sherwood Frey Scholarship, the Black Enterprise Scholar Discussion board and the Darden Annual Fund.
Thompson mentioned he nonetheless attracts on Darden pupil experiences from the early ‘80s, citing enduring case-study classes from an organizational growth class led by Professor Alex Horniman that required college students to contemplate a number of views to unravel issues.
“That’s precisely what we do on this firm. Now, once we determine to create a brand new restaurant or a brand new menu, I get folks across the desk from completely different backgrounds, completely different races, completely different genders. I need all of them on the desk so I can get that perspective,” Thompson mentioned. “It’s very very like a examine group attempting to have a look at a case.”
One recipient of the Warren M. Thompson Scholarship, Katie Winebarger, mentioned receiving the scholarship was life-changing.
“This scholarship is the only real cause I used to be capable of take into account Darden – and enterprise college – as a viable possibility for me,” she mentioned.
Winebarger, who graduated in 2022, at present works for Bain & Firm in San Francisco. She mentioned the Darden expertise enabled by Thompson’s scholarship helps her in her consulting work “in each single approach.”
“The identical expertise and habits that Darden does such an incredible job at cultivating – studying from and training your teammates the place attainable, balancing a number of demanding programs (instances) and management roles, and heavy involvement with actions that drive tradition and expertise – are precisely the talents which have enabled me to take pleasure in my expertise at Bain and contribute meaningfully to the case and workplace expertise, that are so extremely valued at Bain as effectively,” she mentioned.
Passionate Personnel
At the same time as he plans for subsequent steps professionally and personally, Thompson retains producing concepts for his firm. They’re the lifeblood of his agency, and the rationale why he loves hiring managers with entrepreneurial spirit.
Thompson pictured with Mark Copanzzi, vp of retail operations for Thompson Hospitality, at The Ridley in Charlottesville. (Photograph by Caroline Mackey)
Within the Hilton Homewood Suites lodge developed adjoining to the Reston headquarters, Thompson Hospitality has created a coaching and growth campus in a working lodge for cooks, managers and different positions. Extra lodges may very well be in Thompson’s future, in addition to comfort shops. Thompson mentions the likelihood that a part of his firm might finally go public, although he shortly provides – as a part of his succession planning – that he has little interest in overseeing a public entity.
Nonetheless the plans unfold, Thompson is aware of effectively what sort of folks will hold the momentum going for Thompson Hospitality – these considering creatively about do issues completely different or higher.
“An entrepreneur who’s working his or her enterprise, in the event that they don’t find it irresistible or take pleasure in it or get enthusiastic about it, they’re not going to achieve success,” he mentioned. “You’ve received to have the eagerness. You possibly can’t wait to get up each morning and go do it. Then you definitely’ve received to determine do it higher than anyone else.”
