Airport Experience® News - Leadership Issue 2024

BOB STANTON, senior vice president, business development, SSP America I started as an hourly employee at Marriott and worked my way up

through the operating ranks. After 18 years, I eventually moved into their corporate headquarters to do concept development, and that’s where I met Pat Carroll, who was my immediate supervisor and the vice president of concepts. He’s been a good mentor, not only in showing me the basics of understanding the economics and the structure of Marriott, but as a good, active listener. He always gave good, constructive feedback and shared his experiences with me – he taught me to think differently. I left HMSHost after 31 years and went to run the business development side of Delaware North. When I left seven years later, Pat Murray, my second mentor, heard that I was available. He had Pat Carroll reach out to me and two days later, I was working for SSP. Since then, Pat Murray has taken a very large mentoring role in my personal and professional life. He’s really fostered a level of independence that I hadn’t had before. As I get on in my career, I’ve learned that you can only win so many accounts – there has to be something else that motivates you to want to continue to do this work. I get just as much satisfaction by passing on my knowledge and my experience to people that I mentor as I do winning deals. It’s a big circle of life – someone takes you from a junior position and passes you on to someone else, and as time goes on, you learn to turn that back into the organization and into other people. In the end, it’s the relationships that matter most.

AFSANEH BENSON, senior director, brands and concepts, SSP America A year ago, I returned to a familiar industry, but in a new role within the business development team at SSP. While stepping into any new role can be intimidating, the gift has been working alongside mentors who have profoundly shaped my career. I’ve been fortunate to learn from some of the industry’s brightest – professionals who lead with integrity, humility, and resilience – professionals like Pat Banducci, Pat Carroll, Atousa Ghoreichi, and Ron Gomes. Each mentor has contributed something unique, sometimes without even knowing it, helping to form the professional I am today. One mentor in particular, Bob Stanton, has been a guiding force. Bob taught me the Restaurant Development Process (RDP) and all the intricacies in my first week of starting in the industry in 2007. Fast forward to today, where he continues with his thoughtful way of sharing insights and gently steering decisions. It’s no wonder he has earned the nickname “professor” among our team. Bob’s approach – leading by integrity and empowering others – has become a model I strive to emulate. Mentorship, at its core, is about investing in others, and the most meaningful mentors don’t set out to teach; they simply inspire. It’s a privilege to be part of this community of leaders who, often quietly, build each other up to be the best versions of ourselves.

ANDREA ALBO, deputy chief of staff at Denver International Airport (DEN) In life, we often categorize between our professional and personal experiences. Yet, our experience is of a whole-self encounter and often not delineated in that way. In 2024, Denver International Airport launched a mentoring pilot program aimed at supporting employees with an experience that would support professional growth. I met Erica Daken at an introductory program meeting between mentees and mentors. The initial conversation centered on the content that was provided by the program and soon pivoted to a conversation that fused together professional experiences shaped by personal experiences. I quickly recognized similar life experiences that Erica shared and that sharing my own experiences could help shape our mentor/mentee relationship. We both identify as female Latinas who come from humble beginnings and are seen as strong leaders in our personal and professional lives. A theme of grit forged a long-lasting relationship between us that supported the program intention as well as sharing experiences together like event networking and talking through whole self-scenarios. Key takeaways for us centered on vulnerability and authenticity, which allowed us to build meaningful relationships as we learned to bring our whole selves to the workplace.

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AX NEWS DECEMBER 2024 / JANUARY 2025