5 things: New top execs named at Cura and Guest Services

In this edition of 5 Things, Food Management highlights five things you may have missed recently about developments affecting onsite dining.

Here’s your list for today:

FM Top 50 firm Elior North America has announced the promotion of Trish Spellman to managing director of its Cura Hospitality unit and Karen Roelandts to executive vice president of human resources for the company. Spellman, who has over 30 years of experience in contract-managed services operations for leading organizations, joined Cura in 2016 and most recently served as vice president of operations, overseeing 10 districts comprising 107 accounts across nine states, with a total managed volume of $150 million. She succeeds Lisa Schairer as managing director of Cura, as Schairer transitions to a new role as co-founder/co-managing partner with Cura founder/former president Mitch Possenger of startup boutique senior dining services management firm Culinesse LLC, in which Elior has taken an investment position.

Read more: Elior North America Announces New Leaders of Human Resources and Cura Hospitality

Several major U.S. colleges and universities are reimposing restrictions on their campuses due to the recent rise in the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, with several such as Georgetown University, George Washington University and Cornell University deciding to either cancel all indoor events or hold them online, among other restrictions. Schools like the University of Maryland, Georgetown and Harvard University are restricting all indoor campus dining to a grab-and-go model, while Princeton University is canceling or postponing all indoor gatherings with food where face masks cannot be worn. Most drastically, Cornell has announced that it is canceling all university activities involving undergraduates, closing libraries to students, closing fitness centers and moving all final exams to a remote format.

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Read more: American universities reimpose COVID restrictions over omicron variant: 'Reminiscent' of March 2020

FM Top 50 firm Guest Services Inc. has appointed Nico Foris CEO, effective January 1, 2022, succeeding Gerard Gabrys, who has held the position since 2001 and will continue to serve as Chair of the Board. Foris joined Guest Services in 2012 as CFO and was named COO in 2019. Prior to joining Guest Services, Foris started his career within the audit practice at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and later served as CFO of the NFL's Washington Football Team.

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Read more: Guest Services Inc. Appoints Nico J. Foris to Chief Executive Officer

Global facilities firm ISS has announced an expansion through 2024 of its partnership with power management firm Eaton, from single-service food services to full integrated facility services that now includes the provision of technical services, facilities management, cleaning, space planning and support services such as mailroom and switchboard operations. “We are thrilled to be expanding our partnership with Eaton," says Susan Wojciechowski, Chief Commercial Officer for ISS North America, which operates its food services through FM Top 50 firm ISS Guckenheimer. "This is a great example of the value our integrated facilities platform delivers to clients—and an expansion from our high-quality reputation that we cultivated within our food service offering to Eaton.”

Read more: ISS, Eaton Expand Facility Services Partnership

Major real estate management firm Nuveen Real Estate is collaborating with urban farming organization Brooklyn Grange to add an agricultural program to its office building in Fairfield, Conn. through which Brooklyn Grange will provide fresh produce for the building’s tenants and on-site cafeteria as well as to local food banks. Plans also call for a rooftop greenhouse garden or a garden adjacent to the building.

Read more: From Farm to Office! Nuveen Real Estate Brings Sustainability Program To Fairfield County Office Building

Bonus: FM’s 2021 Senior Dining Power Players emerge from the pandemic

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]