As new NRA president and CEO, Sweeney will be called upon to meet a variety of challenges

Nation's Restaurant News,  August 13, 2007  by Ellen Koteff

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

When Dawn Sweeney changes jobs on Oct. 1, she will be traveling a lot further than just the two miles that separate AARP's headquarters from that of the National Restaurant Association in Washington, D.C.

As the newly appointed president and chief executive of the NRA, Sweeney can expect to find plenty of issues that need attention when she arrives, not to mention the 103 bosses she will report to on the NRA board of directors and the NRA Educational Foundation's board. But the unanimous decision by the NRA's 12-person search committee to hire Sweeney surely indicates that its members are confident she can make a smooth transition.

The good news for Sweeney, who most recently was president and chief executive of AARP Services Inc., a subsidiary of the organization formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, is that she will find NRA and NRAEF staffs that are largely top-notch, professional and dedicated to the restaurant industry.

Initially, she says she is going to focus on three areas: membership services; advocacy at the federal, state and local levels; and promoting the industry to the American public.

Sweeney, who led the for-profit subsidiary of AARP, undoubtedly will spend a great deal of time working to fatten up the NRA's coffers. She is exiting an association that generates approximately $700 million annually to head up the NRA, which tallies closer to $54 million. That is a huge disparity but also a huge opportunity. It's probably a safe bet that many of those oh-so-many board bosses are counting on Sweeney to find ways to boost the NRA's revenues significantly. Consequently, it makes good sense that Sweeney's three-year contract calls for her compensation to be based in part on how well she is able to do just that.

The NRA leadership has fretted about the financial health of the organization for quite some time. Those concerns were evident in the power play that ensued over the past year between the NRA and the NRAEF's respective boards. The often-heated debate focused largely over a reorganization that would have changed the disbursement of the lucrative proceeds from the NRAEF's ServSafe food safety and certification program. While no deal was ever struck to move ServSafe from the NRAEF to the NRA, the discussions continue, and many insiders say change is inevitable.

One board faction, in fact, would like to see more money channeled into the NRA's already influential political action committee, some board members and staffers say.

Meanwhile, the NRA is moving ahead with plans to retain an outside consulting firm to help map out the group's strategy for the next five years, which undoubtedly will address many of these issues.

"We held off until we had a new chief executive in place," said Dick Rivera, chairman of the NRA, chief executive and chairman of Sarasota, Fla. based Rubicon Enterprises LLC, and a member of the search committee.

Clearly, the NRA is at a turning point in its 88-year history, and Sweeney could be quite instrumental in guiding it into the future. Ted Balestreri, who is a past chairman of the NRA and still a voting board member, says he thinks Sweeney is a logical choice.

"In the 21st century nobody coasts uphill, only downhill," said Balestreri, co-founder of The Sardine Factory in Monterey, Calif. "I believe this woman has the entrepreneurial spirit to keep this organization moving upwards."

Steven C. Anderson, who stepped down in January as chief executive and president after seven years to join the National Association of Chain Drug Stores in the same posts, proved to be extremely adept at maneuvering through the complexities of the Washington, D.C., political arena. Anderson even managed to score a real public relations coup by arranging a keynote address by President George W. Bush at the 2006 NRA Show in Chicago.

But Sweeney's challenges to raise revenue could prove even more daunting than those faced by Anderson. She is moving from AARP, where national membership isn't contingent on divergent state associations, to the NRA, where relationships with the 50 associations have become crucial.

Balestreri says that in order for Sweeney to succeed, she must be able to build consensus.

"If she takes a strong leadership role, she will be all right," he said. "She needs to implement the consensus of the board, and if she feels any differently, she should have the courage to present her case."

Ralph Brennan, an NRA board member and an independent restaurateur from New Orleans, predicts that is exactly what Sweeney will do. Brennan, a former NRA chairman, headed up the search committee.

"Dawn has a very commanding but subtle presence," Brennan said. "She's a very good listener and a real consensus builder."

Hopefully, Sweeney will be afforded a minimum of two years to succeed in her new post. And if Brennan's prediction holds true, chances are good that her transition from AARP to the NRA will seem a much shorter distance than the stroll from E Street NW to 17th Street NW in Washington.