12.13.22 - Javits Center’s Alan Steel pushed the convention center from New Jersey East to Manhattan West
' Alan Steel is the president and chief executive officer of the New York Convention Center Operating Corporation, which operates the Javits Center.
He joined the corporation in 2012 after 30 years with event management company George Little Management and, before that, 14 years as a trade development official for the United Kingdom. Steel has presided over the completion of a $1.5 billion expansion of the Javits Center that added 1.2 million square feet of event space, including 6.75 rooftop acres of farm, garden and orchard. The convention center also replaced the glass exterior, reducing by 90% the deaths of birds that used to fly into the original black glass. He launched a sustainability program that made the building more energy efficient, and the organization aims to divert 80% of Javits waste from landfills by 2024..
Steel has made presentations on behalf of the events industry to the 26th and 27th U.N. Climate Change conferences. In 2014 he received the King’s Glove award for his contributions to the trade show industry.
He is on the board of directors for New York City Audubon and for New Yorkers for Parks.
How did you come to your current position of power?
I had been a customer of the building for 25 years. We sold my company, George Little Management in 2011 and Javits was looking for a new CEO. The president of the board called me and said, “Think of all the things you’ve complained about for 25 years.” I’ve been here now for 10 years, and it’s a challenge every day. We’re working with a lot of customers who only come to New York once or twice a year, and we are the most important thing happening to them. It’s rewarding being able to meet their needs.
How do you define power?
I see power at every level of an organization. Everyone has power. The power of the one at the top of the tree needs to be used to harness the power of others, allowing them to exercise that power, creating an environment where their power can be unleashed and keep moving in the direction the business needs to be moved in.
What are the benefits of holding power in your line of work?
Because I came from the customer side, I have a real appreciation of customer needs. The power I hold allows me to make changes to meet those needs. Now, having the experience of being a building operator and being able to take the experiences and meld them together to meet customer needs and keep the business moving is why it’s beneficial for me to have the power I have.
What are the disadvantages and frustrations of being in a position of power?
I don’t think there are many. It’s much more frustrating not having power. If there is frustration, [it is that] sometimes those working with you assume you have power to do everything.
You’ve been in positions of power in state government in a public benefit corporation, national government and in private industry. How do they differ in terms of your ability to exercise power and accomplish goals?
These came in different stages of my career. In national government it was early in my career, and there were regulations about what could be done. There was a deliberate limit on how much I could exercise power. It was frustrating.
When I went into private industry with [George Little Management], the power I was able to exercise came through the ability to grow the business. I was essentially an entrepreneur and able to identify and act on entrepreneurial goals and hire people I wanted to do jobs I wanted to be done.
At Javits I report to an independent board, [which] wanted to see change at Javits and gave me authority to make changes. I was able to be entrepreneurial in my approach, and I used the title cheerleader in chief. My goal was to raise the morale of people in the building, raise the image of the building to others who could see the true potential of the building if it were managed properly.
What is the most important action you’ve taken since joining the Javits Center?
One was to change the culture. The day I began, we developed a program, Yes, I Can Help. We got everyone on board with the idea that our role was to help. From there, we changed the name of all departments from service departments to solution departments. We trained people not to say, “Yes, we can give you something,” but rather, “Maybe here’s a better solution, a different solution.”
We started Five in Five and asked every department head to identify five things they could change in five months. We reviewed them, funded them and gave people authority to amend their own businesses as they saw fit within the structure of Javits—identify what you need to do, we agree you can do it, and you’re accountable for getting it done. We changed the culture and gave people the authority to make changes.
The second is sustainability. When I arrived, I found we had a 7-acre green roof. I called the Audubon Society, and they agreed to do research on birding on the roof. We also have research programs with Drexel University to study the impact of green roofs in cities. One of the big changes is that all the glass was replaced as part of the renovation and changed to light, open, fritted glass that enabled birds to see it as an obstruction. Bird deaths were reduced by 90%. Once we told people [about it], they would ask, “What are you doing next?” The interest in sustainability grew—we were lucky to be ahead of it. '
Read Full Crain's Article Here