President of Sports & Entertainment, Aramark
Search every verified Alison Birdwell interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Alison Birdwell, President of Sports & Entertainment at Aramark and a 1988 graduate of Boston University's School of Hospitality Administration, served as the convocation speaker for the school's 2022 ceremony. During her address, Birdwell discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on her business, stating that the venues she oversees "completely shut down" and that her business "went out of business" overnight. She described the challenge of leading a hospitality company when "all the people went away," noting that the human element of the industry had been removed. Birdwell also spoke about her career and leadership philosophy. She said she employs data scientists to analyze sales of items like beer and hot dogs, and described her business as a "1.6 billion dollar business" that has recovered after the pandemic. She encouraged graduates to embrace change, citing a quote attributed to Winston Churchill: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts." Birdwell characterized herself as working in a "male dominated industry" and said she has learned to have confidence in her abilities.
“Over my desk I have a big printed framed poster that says nothing changes if nothing changes and I look at that pretty much every day because change is hard and change is scary but change is inevitable and if you don't roll with it it's going to roll with you and you're going to end up someplace you don't want to be.”
“I'm responsible for venues that completely shut down during COVID. Imagine running 150 stadiums and zoos and arenas and concert places and convention centers and overnight my business went out of business. There's no playbook; nothing has ever happened like that before in the world today.”
“When you think about the industry, hospitality is a people industry. All the people went away. How do you connect with someone whether you're a student sitting in a dorm or your bedroom taking classes, whether you're a guest who can't attend an event, or in a hotel and you can't even go to the restaurant? The human pie...”
“I employ a virtual army of data scientists in my business and no kidding they spend all day analyzing where we sell the most beer and hot dogs in what location and how we can move those menus around or how we can get those to you in different ways. That's a career and I have a guy who's a vice president of doing that....”
“Confidence has allowed me to run what is today finally back after COVID a 1.6 billion dollar business, but I'm still not confident in all that I do and I think that's the best kind of position to be in.”
“I work in a pretty male dominated industry. I was always thinking, well I don't know that I can do that, but I can and I did and you need to know that you can and you will as well.”
“You chose hospitality. What drew you here? Think about that. You have to love this industry. It's a tough industry. It's tough when times are good but it's tough when times are bad as well, but underneath that toughness there's a lot of passion and there's a lot of fun.”
“Success is not an accident so have the confidence and back it up and you will do great things.”
“Leaders inspire, motivate, guide, influence, and they're fair. They're decisive, they set goals, and they have a vision. That's a lot and you don't learn those things overnight. Rome was not built in a day but you need to have that confidence to feel that you can learn those things and don't be afraid to do that.”
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”
2022 SHA Convocation Guest Speaker: Alison Birdwell, SHA'88, President, Sports & Entertainment, Aramark; Board Member, ...
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