FAST COMPANY: How do you change the direction of your business?
SEAN KELL: When you're talking about changing the strategic direction of a company, or frankly even setting the strategic direction of a company, I encourage you to think about four key things: first, don't be afraid to be bold, second, clearly articulate the vision of where you're trying to go, everyone in the company is going to want to know where you're headed; third, set three to five key initiatives that the senior team and the company can execute on to get you there; and then fourth and finally, I believe the senior team needs to be personally involved in the execution and taking you on the journey to that new strategic direction.
How do you change the direction of your business?
Sean Kell, CEO, A Place for Mom+
Sean Kell is Chief Executive Officer of A Place for Mom, Inc. In this role Kell is responsible for the strategic vision, operations and overall management of the company.
Prior to joining A Place For Mom, Kell spent three years as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Expedia.com, where he managed the world's largest online travel site, including all aspects of brand marketing, online marketing, e-commerce operations, call center operations, finance, HR and product development. Kell's teams also managed the Expedia affiliate business, strategic marketing partnerships, and the loyalty points/high value customer programs.
Before his role leading Expedia.com, Kell spent two years in Dallas, Texas as Senior Vice President and General Manager of hotels.com, the largest hotel-focused online travel site in the US.
Prior to joining Expedia, Inc., Kell spent four years at the Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle where he held various executive and general management positions in the company's wholesale division. Kell led the businesses focused on the office coffee, e-commerce, government and military markets.
Before Starbucks, Kell spent five years at McKinsey and Company (in Los Angeles, Seattle and London) serving clients in the high-tech, financial and retail industries. His work focused on the areas of corporate strategy, e-commerce, sales force effectiveness and customer care/call centers.
Prior to Starbucks, Kell was a development engineer and sales representative for IBM's storage systems division in San Jose, CA.
Kell holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Chicago and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California.