Here we are, another week past and time for another edition of The Tech Chef. For those of you that are regular listeners, thank you for tuning in again and for those of you that are joining us for the very first time, a very big welcome to all of you. This is your number one resource for all things related to hospitality technology and strategy to make your organization a more profitable and efficient organization. To ensure you don’t miss a single episode, make sure you subscribe to our show via your favorite podcast app, software or service. It is a pleasure to have you with us here today. Trust me, you are amongst great company!
I will be flying to out Vegas tomorrow for Food on Demand… look forward to seeing many of you there. The number of vendors and attendees that this show brings every year continues to impress me. I was at the very first show they had outside of Dallas and even year one, it was a substantial conference. Please come up and say “hi” when I see you there. I have quite a few people scheduled for interviews for this show so if you would like to be one of them, please ping me on LinkedIn or text me so we can set something up.
Today we are privileged to talk to Marcus Wasdin.
Marcus Wasdin serves as the General Manager of the PAR Data Central Business Unit. PAR Data Central, formally Restaurant Magic Software, is the Restaurant Back Office management suite that some of the world’s best-known restaurants use to manage operations. In this role, Marcus has responsibility for all aspects of the business unit.
Most recently, Marcus served as the Chief Information Officer of the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena. At the Hawks, Marcus has responsibility for the technology, analytics and business strategy functions. Marcus led the technology/guest experience components of the $200 million renovation of State Farm Arena implementing $25 million in new technology in an 18-month period. In his tenure, the Hawks improved from 16th to 1st in overall guest experience and from 18th to 1st in in arena technology as compared to other NBA teams based on guest surveys.
Prior to joining the Hawks, Marcus served in multiple executive roles for hospitality, software and technology companies where he proved to be a successful and driven business leader. Most recently, Marcus served as Chief Information Officer at Church’s Chicken. Marcus’ experiences also include time as Vice President of Marketing and Product Management as well as the Vice President of Sales Support for SumTotal Systems, a strategic Human Capital and Business Planning software provider. Marcus also serves as an advisory board member for Hospitality Technology Magazine which is the only media brand dedicated exclusively to covering technology trends and solutions in the lodging and food service industries.
Marcus Wasdin graduated with honors from the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Information Systems.
As I stated at the top of the show, I have several interviews lined up over the next couple of days to share with you in future episodes. Next week I will be featuring Zack Oates, Founder and CEO of Ovation. He is an award-winning entrepreneur, husband, author, innovation consultant, blogger and… well… we will keep the details for next episode. Just like Rev, I never know where the conversation is going to go and what crazy experiences I will have when I am around these two. Regardless, Zack is an amazing individual with an extremely reputable hospitality company geared around customer experience and engagement platforms. Want actionable guest feedback? Zack is a guy you should be talking to.