South Florida CEO Roundtable: CEOs plan improvements in tech, business relationships for 2016
This week’s question: What’s one change or innovation you’re going to make at your company in 2016?
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Making customer service a top priority and leveraging technology to better align our client’s business objectives with our legal strategies. By doing this, we can provide clients with more cost-effective and efficient legal services.
Ramon Abadin, president, The Florida Bar, and partner, Sedgwick Law Firm
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As a Facial Recognition company, we are pretty innovative now. I’d say, being less tech focused is the innovation we seek in 2016. Fewer video meetings, more lunches. Fewer conference calls, more visits to each other’s offices. It’s about being more human.
Brian Brackeen, CEO, Kairos
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2016 will see CREC place even more emphasis on the intersection between real estate and technology. We’re going to expand our investment in technology that improves the way we serve clients, attract and train talent and allocate internal resources.
Carol Brooks, president and co-founder, CREC (Continental Real Estate Companies)
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We’re investing in new technology at the InterContinental Miami, with the goal of enhancing the guest experience and the way we operate. Last year we introduced Zingle, an app that allows guests to request any service — from the morning paper to milk and cookies — from their phone. This year we’re adding a system called REX, which helps our housekeepers be more efficient in serving guests when and how they want it. We’re also taking our digital arts program to the next level through some exciting community partnerships which we’ll announce later this year.
Robert Hill, general manager, InterContinental Miami
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One of our major goals for 2016 is to embrace the digital world. As a small community bank coming out of the recession, we’re a bit behind the ball, but better late than never. It’s imperative that we adopt technological initiatives that will better serve our customers, especially millennials. My new motto is “come, click or call” — we need to offer our customers access to us on each and every platform.
Miriam Lopez, president/chief lending officer, Marquis Bank
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Two of our top priorities center around building and maintaining strong relationships with our contributors, our community partners as well as diversifying our revenue streams to mitigate the effects of the fluctuations in the economy and employment. Over the next year, we are also focused on some business solutions that will support both of those objectives — helping us work smarter and more efficiently.
Harve A. Mogul, president and CEO, United Way of Miami-Dade
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We’re going to continue investing in our employees’ overall health because our people are the backbone of our company. Helping employees lead a healthy lifestyle can translate to better engagement in the workplace. To that end, this year we are giving our employees and their families financial incentives to get an annual physical.
Mike Parra, CEO for DHL Express Americas
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In 2016, the Arsht Center will be more proactive about ensuring that its patrons are aware of the risks of purchasing from third-party ticket sellers. In the past, we’ve worked with other Florida-based performing art centers to put an end to this by protecting existing laws, but now we’re going directly to the consumers. Our new informational videos in English and Spanish will educate and inform patrons of the risks of buying tickets through a third-party seller. Most importantly, this tool will give clear direction regarding how the online ticket-buying process works on our official site (www.arshtcenter.org), highlighting its safety.
M. John Richard, president, CEO, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
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I recently completed the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business course which helped me identify a big opportunity for my business. This opportunity will enable our clients, typically Fortune 2,000 companies and agencies, to track their customer’s journey real-time.
Ania Rodriguez, CEO of Key Lime Interactive
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We are launching our telehealth platform and service this year. This is a project that we have been working on all of last year and one that I feel will have a major impact to organizations and their respective employees. Telehealth can change the current paradigm of care and allow for improved access and outcomes in a cost-effective manner. Most routine doctor visits can be done over the phone, without having to take time off from work to physically go to a doctor’s office. This can save not only an employee’s time, but also produce cost savings for an organization. It has a positive financial impact to an employer’s bottom line by decreasing absenteeism in the workplace (70 million Americans miss work every year due to illnesses). We are excited to be able to offer the program this year.
Rachel Sapoznik, CEO & president, Sapoznik Insurance
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In 2016, ginnybakes is turning wholeheartedly to building better relationships with our customers and partners. Personal relationships are so important to any business and we think that’s our most important mission as we grow and evolve. Send an email to info@ginnybakes.com and you’ll reach me or my husband, Steve, on the other end. We’re looking forward to making many new friends in 2016!
Ginny Simon, founder, CEO, ginnybakes
This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 5:40 PM with the headline "South Florida CEO Roundtable: CEOs plan improvements in tech, business relationships for 2016."