Keynotes 
The Top Ten Things Your CXO Won't Tell You
Thursday, Oct. 14
9 to 9:45 a.m.
Revenue Management is still a fairly young discipline and can be considered a ‘dark art' by those who haven't worked in it. This can mean that senior executives fail to appreciate its potential and scope, considering it a ‘specialty' rather than a strategic tool to drive their business. As someone who started out in the field nearly twenty years ago, Tom will share his observations about what revenue professionals really need to know to connect with the hearts and minds of their leadership, in order to have the impact they deserve within their organizations.
Tom Seddon
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
InterContinental Hotels Group
Strategically Leveraging Information
Thursday, Oct. 14
9:45 to 10:30 a.m.
Price Optimization and revenue generation have clearly been understood as the primary goal of Revenue Management practitioners. However, today's revenue managers possess critical information and customer insights that are relevant not only for tactical pricing decisions, but also can be leveraged to influence the strategic direction of the company. Learn how Revenue Management at Royal Caribbean evolved from a pricing function into a highly influential consultant to the C-Suite.
Brian Rice
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
Building a Revenue Generating Organization
Thursday, Oct. 14
4 to 4:45 p.m.
Sonic Automotive is a progressive Auto Retailer founded in 1997 by O. Bruton Smith with his sons Scott and David. They grew rapidly and by the 4th Quarter of 2008 Scott Smith grew tired of lackluster performance and began restructuring his Company. He introduced Jeff Dyke as the Operations Leader to create one of America's Greatest Companies to Work & Shop. Sonic is undertaking a multi-year effort to understand consumer demand and make more accurate and profitable decisions relative to inventory, pricing, procurement and merchandising. Learn how Sonic is incorporating people management, technology and advanced analytics to make it happen.
Jeff Dyke
Executive Vice President of Operations
Sonic Automotive, Inc.
Panels
Regaining Pricing Power to Own the Upswing
Panel A: B2B Track
Thursday, Oct. 14
11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
During the recent economic turndown, many firms resorted to drastic price incentives to generate volume. Prices remain soft as panicked prices may have led to an unreasonable expectation of discounting, and some competitors are still engaged in desperation pricing. We’ve assembled a panel of experts who will discuss what worked and what didn’t work during the recession and the techniques they are employing to regain pricing power as the economy recovers.
Moderator: Jon Higbie
Sr. Vice President & Chief Scientist
Revenue Analytics
David King
Sr. Manager, Cargo Revenue Management
Continental Airlines
Paul O’Malley
Director, Revenue Management
Continental Airlines
Julia Morrison
Director, Operations Research
Marriott International
Rob Tanner
Director, Investor Relations
Gaylord Entertainment Company
Aligning the C-Suite and Converting the Skeptics
Panel B: B2C Track
Thursday, Oct. 14
11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Building enthusiasm for change is difficult. It is especially tricky when you are dealing with successful executives who have very different perspectives of how to drive profitable growth. Our panel of experts will share their experiences in assessing priorities and in aligning the diverse perspectives of Marketing, Sales, Operations and Finance to achieve transformational change.
Moderator: Robert G. Cross
Chairman & CEO
Revenue Analytics
Leslie Anderson
Vice President, Revenue Management
Starwood Hotels & Res W
Greg Cross
Sr. Vice President, Revenue Management
Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Sherri Hutter
Director, Business Acceleration
The Coca-Cola Company
Padmanabh Yardi
Vice President, IR Revenue Management Systems
Marriott International
Segmenting to Superstardom: Re-thinking Market Segmentation
Panel C: B2B Track
Thursday, Oct. 14
2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Market segmentation is a key element in selling the right product to the right customer at the right time for the right price. Companies are rapidly deploying new CRM systems that unify customer-centric information, opening up new avenues to change the game through segmentation. How do we move beyond the conventional segmentation criteria of size, volume and profitability? How do we segment based on customer behavior? Our panel will tackle these critical issues which are at the heart of Revenue Management and Price Optimization.
Moderator: Mark Ferguson
Professor
Georgia Tech
Reggie Kaul
Vice President, Pricing & Strategy
Cardinal Health
Tristan Plaisance
Manager, Strategic Pricing
Siemens Industry, Inc.
Greg Preuer
Director, Pricing
Cooper Lighting
Mark Rudel
Marketing Director, Enterprise Revenue Management
UPS
Getting Price Premiums in an Era of Price Transparency
Panel D: B2C Track
Thursday, Oct. 14
2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Does unprecedented consumer and competitor visibility into your prices inevitably lead to a downward spiral in price? Not according to our panel of experts! Certain companies have used rigorous analytical processes to model and monitor customer willingness-to-pay. Join them in a spirited discussion of how they’ve uncovered means to identify when and where their customers are willing to pay price premiums despite a general downward pressure on price.
Moderator: Craig Eister
Vice President, Revenue Management
InterContinental Hotels Group
Wendy Barber
Enterprise Business Architect
Macys Systems & Tech
Brad Beakley
Former Vice President, Operations Control & Planning
US Airways
Elton Evans
Vice President, Revenue Management
Dean Foods
Breakout Sessions
Leveraging Revenue Management and Optimization to Transform within a "Gut Feel" Industry
Breakout Session A
Thursday, Oct. 14
1:30 to 2:15 p.m.
No one understands the need for innovation better than Westwood One, one of the largest producers and distributors of radio programming in the United States. Faced with decreased advertising spend and the diversity and scale of broadcasting entertainment, news, weather, sports, talk, and traffic programming to approximately 7,700 radio stations across the USA, Westwood One recognized that they could no longer continue making millions of decisions per week manually and without the appropriate tools. In response, Westwood One leveraged Revenue Management and Optimization to maximize their advertising inventory utilization and financial performance. Learn how Luis Rodriguez, SVP CIO of Westwood One, transformed the business within an intuition-driven industry and the lessons he has learned along the way.
Luis Rodriguez
Senior Vice President & CIO
Westwood One
A Tag Team Approach to Effective Communication
Breakout Session B
Thursday, Oct. 14
1:30 to 2:15 p.m.
Contrary to the natural inclination of many of those in this field, communication with respect to Pricing should focus less on analytics and more on ideas to grow the business. While elasticities and substitution are important, they are not the basis for communication to either Senior Executives or the organization as a whole. The Home Depot has taken a unique approach to communicating with the entire company. Two individuals share the responsibilities of Pricing Strategy, Analytics, Execution and Communication. One person has an analytical background and the other has a merchandising background. This arrangement permits a combined business / analytical perspective which facilitates communication and growth. Randy Light and Bill Dudziak will share their successful tag team approach to profitable revenue growth at The Home Depot.
Bill Dudziak
Director of Pricing Analytics
The Home Depot
Randy Light
Divisional Merchandising Manager for Pricing Strategy
The Home Depot
Workshops
Principles for Revenue Management and Price Optimization Success
Workshop A: The Basics
Friday, Oct. 15
9 a.m. to Noon
Revenue Management and Price Optimization have the potential to generate millions of dollars in additional revenue and profit. However, the path to success is littered with the bones of “what might have been.” This “Back to Basics” workshop, taken from a series of M.B.A. lectures and current client experiences, has been updated this year to provide a fresh perspective on the principles which help companies drive profitable growth.
Examine the fundamentals of using rigorous analysis and advanced technology to increase revenue productivity from existing assets through this thought-provoking session. Review and reinforce the secrets to success in a wide variety of industries and challenge conventional thinking.
In this highly interactive workshop which uses case studies and real-time audience response technology, attendees will learn:
- A stepwise approach to Revenue Management and Price Optimization
- The respective roles of people and technology
- How to think like a customer
- What CEOs really want
- Ah-ha moments in the evolution of Pricing and Revenue Management
- Creating a revenue driven organization
Robert G. Cross
Chairman & CEO
Revenue Analytics
A GPS System for the C-Suite: How dashboards can drive business visibility into the hands of the decision makers
Workshop B: Advanced Topics
Friday, Oct. 15
9 a.m. to Noon
The dashboard is the CEO's killer app, making the gritty details of a business that are often buried deep within a large organization accessible at a glance to senior executives. Managers can see key changes in their businesses almost instantaneously and take quick, corrective action. At General Electric Co. (GE), James P. Campbell, chief of the Consumer & Industrial division, which makes appliances and lighting products, tracks the number of orders coming in from each customer every day and compares that with targets. "I look at the digital dashboard the first thing in the morning so I have a quick global view of sales and service levels across the organization," says Campbell. "It's a key operational tool in our business." This is especially true with data from the Revenue Management system.
The dashboard is not just a method for pointing out problems. It is a work management process for getting problems identified and corrected. Continuously identifying and resolving problems is a fundamental building block for achieving and sustaining excellent operation. Complex information is displayed an easy to understand format. This workshop will present ways in which dashboards can assist the C-Suite with the following:
- Tracking key performance indicators and their organizational relationship
- Trends and future projections of key performance indicators
- Management by exception using alerts and exception reporting
- Data visualization using custom reports and graphics
- Value of what-if analyses and side-by-side comparisons for effective decision-making
Participants are encouraged to bring a Windows-based PC.
Amruth Sivalenka
Vice President Business Consulting
Rainmaker
Optimization with Excel
Workshop C: Experimental Thinking
Friday, Oct. 15
9 a.m. to Noon
Most Revenue Management problems such as capacity allocation, inventory management, price optimization and supply chain management require solving an optimization model. Commercial solvers are available for this purpose, but you may not necessarily need a full-scale optimization software for a quick analysis or a high level planning exercise. Excel solver is a good solution to these situations where you want a quick analysis using optimization methods without the hassle of going through complex and expensive optimization software.
In this workshop, you will learn the basics of most common optimization methods, how to interpret the results and how to assess the sensitivity of the result using Excel solver. You will have a chance to explore the full potential of the Excel solver with a hands-on exercise you can relate and apply to your business. Participants from industries already familiar with optimization as well as those who are new to optimization will benefit from this workshop and see how easily they can optimize their business problems through Excel.
In this workshop, you will learn:
- The basic theory of Linear Programming (LP)
- How to set up a business problem as an optimization model in Excel
- How to solve linear, non-linear and integer optimization problems with Excel solver
- How to interpret and assess sensitivity of the results
- When to use and when to not use the Excel solver
A PC with Microsoft Excel is required to complete the exercises.
Dr. Seonah Lee
Operations Research Consultant
Revenue Analytics
Dr. Jon Higbie
SVP & Chief Scientist
Revenue Analytics
Introduction to the Science of Revenue Management and Price Analytics
Workshop D: The Basics
Friday, Oct. 15
1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Do you ever wonder what the mathematical algorithms are that play such an important role in determining your companies' revenue performance? The purpose of this workshop is to take a step behind the curtains of the Pricing and Revenue Management software solutions and examine the fundamental modeling concepts that make them work.
This workshop will provide “hands-on” practice with using some of the most common Price Optimization models which are typically treated as a “black box” solution by the leading software providers. By gaining a better understanding of the science behind these solutions, you will be better positioned to make a knowledgeable selection between software providers, or, if you already own a software solution, to gain the full benefit of its capabilities.
In this workshop, you will learn:
- The basics of forecasting historical sales data and measuring price effects
- What to do when you do not have a full history of customer demand (demand unconstraining)
- What the fundamental trade-offs are in Revenue Management capacity allocation decisions and the science behind how they are made
- How to use price elasticity measures to optimize prices
- What is the science behind markdown management and customized bid responses (B2B pricing)
Participants are encouraged to bring a Windows-based PC.
Dr. Mark Ferguson
Steven A. Denning Professor of Technology & Management
Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Barry Smith
Chief Scientist & SVP of Research (Retired)
Sabre Holding
Customer-Centric Strategies: Aligning Pricing with Your Customer Goals
Workshop E: Advanced Topics
Friday, Oct. 15
1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Corporations are built on the foundation that there is a customer that will find your product or service valuable enough to pay you for it. But how much are customers willing to pay? Are there customers that are willing to pay more? Are there customers that will make trade-offs on product and service attributes to get a lower price? Are there non-price concessions you can make that increase perceived value and, in turn, create opportunities to gain incremental revenues? How do you identify and segment them and then customize your strategies to meet each of their needs? In the absence of analytics, rudimentary or complex, there is opinion. And the most senior executive's opinion will trump yours unless you come prepared.
But the analytics you have put blood, sweat and tears into will not be successful alone. It is critical to transition Revenue Management and pricing practices from being something done ‘to' the customer to being ‘for' the customer. Now, more than ever, the C-Suite is focused on developing relationships with your most profitable customers and keeping them around. To satisfy them you need to ensure that your data driven insights are customer-centric.
Using case studies and practical examples, this workshop will explore best practices and pitfalls in the areas of:
- Diagnostic techniques and processes to explore and understand customer data
- Segmentation approaches to manage customers and product lines
- Turning analytics into strategy
- Vision for the future: How can Revenue Management and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) work together?
Participants are encouraged to bring a Window-based PC.
Matt Busch
Director Revenue Management Strategy
Revenue Analytics
Lee Allgood
Director Revenue Management Strategy
Revenue Analytics
Advanced Revenue Management Research Topics at Georgia Tech
Workshop F: Experimental Thinking
Friday, Oct. 15
1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
In this workshop, doctoral students and faculty from the management and engineering schools at Georgia Tech will explain and demonstrate how some of the latest research in the field can help improve profitability. As one of the leading research universities in the world, Georgia Tech's faculty and students are at the cutting edge of Price Optimization and Revenue Management.
Participants in this workshop will receive hands-on training and personal Q&A time with scientists who are developing and testing new techniques and practices that will lead the discipline over the next ten years. Attendees of this workshop will have a glimpse into the future with the unique opportunity to become early adopters and reap a first mover advantage in their industry.
In this workshop, participants will be exposed to the latest research in:
- Discrete choice models for multi-resource capacity-based Revenue Management – breakthroughs in EMSR-b and choice-based methods for hotels
- Leveraging on-line search and purchase data to support promotion evaluation, design of new flexible products, and multi-airport choice analysis
Participants are encouraged to bring a Windows-based PC.
Dr. Laurie Garrow
Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Associated Director of Research, Georgia Transportation Institute/University Transportation Center (GTI/UTC)
Georgia Institute of Technology
Various PhD candidates at Georgia Tech