Chicago Tribune

May 25, 2009 Monday
Chicagoland Final Edition

NEWS ; ZONE C; Pg. 22

785 words

Job as usher shows the way to climb ranks;
Customer service experience at AMC transfers to executive role at Wal-Mart

By Ann Therese Palmer, SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE

When Rolando Rodriguez and his family emigrated from Cuba in 1970, they settled in Kansas City, Mo., near a movie theater, where he applied for a part-time job his junior year of high school.

"The manager interviewed me and offered me a job as an usher on the spot for $1.50 an hour, free movies for me and my family, free drinks and popcorn," Rodriguez said. "Dressing up made it even more special. You got to wear a jacket, black bow tie and black slacks. I came out of there on cloud nine."

During the next 30 years, Rodriguez climbed AMC Entertainment's corporate ladder, and was an executive vice president when the company was sold to a venture capital firm.

Because Rodriguez owned AMC stock, "suddenly, I was financially secure and had the opportunity to rethink my life," he said.

Unsure of his next step, Rodriguez opted to familiarize himself with what it would be like to start a business. Using his experience in merchandising and finance, he counseled small-business owners at the local chamber of commerce.

"Listening to them, I realized I enjoyed the scope of responsibility you get in a large organization with numerous associates and specialists that influences lots of people," he said. "I looked at my skill set, which included real estate and merchandising, and looked for an industry where they'd transfer."

Now 49, he is a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. regional vice president, responsible for 204 stores in Illinois and northern Indiana.

Q. What do running movie theaters and managing Wal-Mart stores have in common?

A. Both companies are in the business of best servicing the customer. Theaters live and die based on the traffic you generate and how you retain that traffic. In retail, it's no different. If we're not providing the products and services people want, we lose the traffic.

There are a lot of other similarities: product merchandising [and] teaching, training and developing people to produce the very best they can.

Q. How conscious are you of your time?

A. There are certain days of the week when time management is very important. Mondays are very tactical in nature, execution-driven -- evaluating the business from the weekend, making decisions for that week.

Midweek, I've got to find some time to reflect on what we've accomplished and where we're going, matching those up with the organization's mission and goals. Because we're moving so fast, there's a tendency to focus more on task instead of strategy.

Q. What's the most effective way you provide leadership?

A. From Tuesdays on, I spend as much time as I can in the stores talking to customers and associates, hearing and seeing what the customer is experiencing.

I spend most of Saturday and the first of every month in the stores to assess how we're doing. I also visit our competitors to see what it is they're doing that we can learn.

Q. What keeps you up nights?

A. I feel compelled, responsible and accountable for the 58,000 people I represent. What keeps me up at night is decisions influencing those individuals.

I have to be at the top of my game each and every day. That carries a lot of accountability. That's what I thrive on.

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Step by step

2009: Vice president, regional general manager for Illinois/northern Indiana, Wal-Mart, Chicago

2006-09: Vice president, regional general manager for Arizona/Nevada/Utah, Wal-Mart, Scottsdale, Ariz.

2005-07: Consultant, Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Kansas City, Mo.

2002-05: Executive vice president, North America operations, AMC Entertainment Inc., Kansas City

2003: Master of business administration, Rockhurst University, Kansas City

2000-02: Senior vice president, Food & Beverage Group, AMC Entertainment, Kansas City

1999-2000: Senior vice president, North America field operations, AMC Entertainment

1996-99: Senior vice president, South Division operations, AMC Entertainment, Clearwater, Fla.

1997: Bachelor of arts, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Fla.

1994-96: Vice president of operations, AMC Entertainment, Clearwater

1993-94: Assistant divisions operations manager, AMC Entertainment

1992-93: Senior regional operations manager, AMC Entertainment

1989-92: Regional operations manager, AMC Entertainment

1988-89: Training director, AMC Entertainment

1988: Associate of arts, Maplewood Community College, Kansas City

1983-88: General manager of six multiplexes, AMC Entertainment, Kansas City.

1979-83: General manager of four multiplexes, AMC Entertainment

1978-79: Concession manager, Metro North 6 Theatres, Kansas City

1976-78: Chief of service, Metro North 6 Theatres, Kansas City

1975-76: Part-time usher/concession-stand worker, AMC Embassy 2 Theatres

atpalmer42@aol.com

Read previous stories on how executives have developed their job skills at chicagotribune.com/careerpath

Business

Photo (color): Rolando Rodriguez, a regional vice president for Wal-Mart for Illinois and northern Indiana, visits a store in Orland Hills Friday. Rodriguez spends time every week going to stores to talk with workers and customers. ANDREW A. NELLES/PHOTO FOR THE TRIBUNE
Photo(s)

May 25, 2009