Firstly, let me wish you all a (slightly belated) Happy New Year. I hope you had a restful break and I offer you my best wishes for a healthy and successful year ahead.
I write to you as the new president of FCSI Worldwide. It fills me with great honor and a sense of enormous pride to be able to pen those words and I pledge to serve the FCSI global membership to the very best of my abilities. I’d like to thank the Worldwide Board – including my predecessor in this role, immediate past-president Mario Sequeira FCSI – for putting their faith in me.
This year, I want to speak with as many members across the world as I can to learn how the Worldwide Board can continue to serve you and your needs. My father Ed Norman FFCSI, who was also entrusted with this role in 2013, told me the most rewarding part of it was being able to better connect with both new and established members across the world. Enabling their views and ideas to be heard and, where possible, put into action. The FCSI is a wonderful Society, and its members are its beating heart. To that end, if you would like to raise any issues or new ideas with me this year, I warmly encourage you to contact me on the email below.
And speaking of new ideas, FCSI Worldwide is delighted to announce the appointment of a new publishing partner for its digital and print portfolio, including our multi-award-winning quarterly magazine Foodservice Consultant. 1473 Media, which is headquartered in London, England, will be taking over the production and commercial efforts of the magazine, website, e-newsletter and FCSI Worldwide’s international events content activity with immediate effect.
Many of you will already know 1473’s Stuart Charlton, who was the previous publisher of the portfolio. He and fellow director Sam Gallagher can’t wait to announce some outstanding new initiatives and hear how Professional and Allied members can benefit from its success. I’m very pleased to add that Stuart and Sam’s new colleagues include Michael Jones, editorial director, and Tina Nielsen, editor, ensuring that the new offering retains its continued high quality of content combined with a compelling injection of new ideas. It will also see the FCSI Worldwide portfolio branding evolve throughout this year. More news to come on that front.
Sharing, supporting, inspiring
This is an exciting chapter for FCSI Worldwide and its regional divisions. This year will see at least three key events among many others, kicking off with the FCSI The Americas Conference in Austin, Texas, on April 11-14, 2024. FCSI Europe, Africa, Middle East (EAME) will also host its Conference this year (details to be announced soon regarding the timing and location); while the FCSI Asia Pacific Division (APD) will host a program of great events once again at the FHA HoReCa show on October 22-25, 2024.
FCSI offers its members so much to be excited about but please let me know how you think we can keep improving as we continue to strive for excellence. ‘We Share, We Support, We Inspire’ is a strapline for the Society that resonates as much as ever before.
I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible during my tenure – hopefully at the events above – serving this wonderful organization.
Eric Norman FCSI, president of FCSI Worldwide
