It's Personal Stories, A Hospitality Podcast

Agnelo Fernandes, CEO, Cote Family Companies interviewed by Dorothy Dowling

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Agnelo has had a very diverse leadership experiences across many different types of hospitality companies and managing, differentiating and building very successful hotels and resorts.  Agnelo’s superpower is driven through his leadership skills of listening to others and driving his own personal relevance in bringing value to every business he leads.

Dorothy Dowling:

Greetings. I am Dorothy Dowling, a principal of DEI Advisors. We are a non profit organization dedicated to personal empowerment. I am delighted today to welcome Agnello Fernandez, CEO at Coat Family Companies. Agnello, welcome. It is truly an honor to have you with us today.

Agnelo Fernandes:

Thank you, Dorothy. Not only for this opportunity to connect with your audience today, but for the countless opportunities and advice you've shared with me over the years. You've been so instrumental in guiding me to where I am today and I can't be, I can't even put that into words at this point in time. But thank you for the opportunity today and I look forward to our conversation.

Dorothy Dowling:

Thank you. And I have to tell you, you're one of my treasured peer mentors as well. So thank you. So I was wondering if we could just get right down to it. And if you could share your career journey, because it has been a magnificent career. You've straddled all different dimensions in the industry. So I'm hoping that you can share with our audience the journey that has led you to become the CEO of Coat Family Companies.

Agnelo Fernandes:

Of course. I've been really fortunate enough to work globally not only in North America, but in Central America and the Caribbean and in Asia. But it really goes back to about 35 years ago where I came out of college armed with a degree in finance and MBA in marketing, ready to take on the world. And really my dream was to be in the world of finance and in banking. And it's something that I fell with. Would have fulfilled my my curiosity for my career and, but as I went through it, I found I started to understand that I was really about people and I really felt the need to communicate the need to be able to be around people and to tell stories, understand, understand their perspectives and feel that I helped coordinate a conference with a hotel company. Thank you. And that led to me having a lot more watching my counterparts having a lot more fun from the hotel side. And I said to them, what do you guys do that make this so much fun for you? And they said we just have a passion for people. And it was really interesting Around that time, I, my first glance of my first interaction with this quote from Maya Angelou and she talks about, it's a really famous quote that says where people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they'll never forget how you made them feel. And, That actually resonated with me to say, you know what? I actually enjoy making somebody's day. I enjoy people. And it's so resonated with me and energized me. And it said this is what I want to do. I want to be in the service industry. I love the hotel industry. My friends, I had enough friends to talk to me about a career path there. And and so I landed in into the industry. I still enjoy in fact, right in my office here, I've got her code pasted. And it's just like this evergreen song that never grows old. Every time I listen to it, I... I get charged. I have a different vibe and a different pop in my step. But from there I I, went through the training programs with with Sheraton Hotels. And then worked for I wanted to be in the space where I could actually... Expand and know about how to more about the business and how to grow. And so I joined this company called Rex Resorts, and that's where I learned and this Rex Resorts is in the deep Caribbean. It's where I learned the art of the deal. I learned about growth strategies, not so much about. Serving people, but it really taught me about the business aspects of it did that for about five or six years and then was recruited by Sinesta Hotels back in the early 2000s, just around the the time 9 11 happened. It's at Synesta Hotels where I truly learned about service culture, what it meant to be a servant leader, and I took that to heart, and I was like, that's really my calling, and this is what I want to do. And with that, during my years at Synesta, I also learned several leadership lessons that it's truly about people. More than myself and carry that on into my next role at Canyon Ranch again. This role was more about true branding and understanding the power and the value of the brand. And my, I was very fortunate to be able to connect with the founder Mel Zuckerman at the time, who actually had all these stories and all this content that he wanted to share with the world. And it's where I truly learned the value of branding and the power behind it. And again. I've always worked in the independent space, and it's always been about people first. So as this kept mounting over the years, I felt that this was a great opportunity to venture out on my own and was presented with an incredible opportunity to serve as a strategic consultant for a wellness company. That's where I reconnected and was able to say I know about sales, I know about marketing, I know about service. Now I'm able to dig deep and help this company grow, and it's pretty much what you're doing today is adding value to to various companies with your leadership skills and putting those into play. At the same time, I was given another tremendous opportunity to develop a project in Costa Rica. It was a mixed use product. It was redeveloping a hotel, adding a master plan community to it, and those two years were took me out of my element of being in the hotel business to now being in the development side of things and truly enjoyed that experience. Was more recently, I was recruited by Terrania Resort and its parent company back then was Destination, and this is where I really, I think blossomed and I am very grateful for the opportunity to create this amazing independent luxury brand where I was able to unleash everything that I had learned everything from best practices and services to business development to the, to sharpening my skills and on the commercial front these opportunities were just provided to me and the brand. I've got to say that it has been a tremendous journey. As life would had it after several years in Miami and Los Angeles we became empty nesters. And my wife and I already decided that We're going to go for broke and see whatever options there are. And we talked about, do we move to Europe or do we move to another part of the country or, we had this big thinking and in comes this opportunity with code family companies, a company that was over is over a hundred years old a company that was ready to Take growth to a whole new level and in terms of hospitality currently, we have resorts. We have summer camps and we have real estate. And I was brought into sort of recalibrate and reset culture strategy and the brand. And as I have gone through the, the last eight months with the organization have really adopted a startup mentality because even though we're 100 years old, we are now evolving differently and I'm repositioning the company to grow its hospitality business. And through the years my preparation has led to this. I've always stayed curious. I've always cultivated relationships and found mentors and made sure that I raise my hand whenever possible and try to add constant value value constantly to whoever has reached out to me. For me, I think I was asked more recently and you've asked the same question. How did you transition from the commercial side to being a CEO? You've got to be in a position to truly understand what you're about. And for me, it was. I've always, I was fortunate enough to have mentors and my dad helped me understand my purpose in life. And that was really about enjoying people and connecting with them. As I said earlier, listening to their stories and making sure that we do something meaningful. At the end of the day, if I can make somebody's day, then I get a sense of fulfillment. But one of the advices that I received along the way from all these mentors was, Always be in listening mode and, when we talk about communications, we usually talk about how well does a person really present their case. But as I say, the most important skill in communication is listening. And I've developed that skill. I've developed the ability to be patient to pause before responding because it's bringing that thoughtfulness to my. Skill set that has actually enabled me to evolve myself and position myself to be in the position that I am today leading a company.

Dorothy Dowling:

Thank you for sharing that with us. Like now. The breadth and depth of the kind of experiences that you have invested in yourself throughout your career journey are truly amazing. And Co family is extraordinarily fortunate to have someone not only of all of the experiences that you've had in terms of your business development, your commercial leadership and your strategic capabilities, but the humanity that you bring to your role is really quite exceptional. So thank you for sharing that journey with us. with all of us. I know you've spoken already about making people feel remembering how to make them feel. But I'm wondering if there is a personal mantra that has shaped your career beyond the quote that you shared with us earlier in terms of how you support partners, how you support your teammates and your industry colleagues.

Agnelo Fernandes:

Absolutely. I'm not sure if it's a personal mantra. It's more of a an approach and a mindset. I usually default to my mindset and the concept of gratitude. And I. My alarm actually at five o'clock says mindset and gratitude, because when I hit grab my phone to turn off the alarm it's a reminder. And it's been this way for a number of years. It's for me, my personal mantra is, staying grateful, positive and being kind to others, and to, if I'm able to adopt that mindset I'm able to make somebody's day. That for me is fulfillment. The other piece that I would say is, Being impeccable with my thoughts, my words, my actions, integrity is what defines me and defines and should define anybody. So I make sure that my approach in doing things is genuine that I'm fortifying relationships and really not, moving away from just a. Casual, transactional hello to more of a deep rooted and meaningful engagement. And lastly for me, I think it's all about relevancy. And if there is a personal mantra to myself, my first thing as I wake up in the morning past my Sort of mindset of gratitude is to say, what am I going to do today? That's going to make me relevant. And so think thinking relevancy and staying relevant is really critical to me.

Dorothy Dowling:

Wow. Those are all brilliant nuggets that you've shared with the audience. No, and I truly share those perspectives

Agnelo Fernandes:

For me, I've truly have had the great fortune of being part of organizations that have allowed to serve the industry and even more fortunate to have industry leaders believe in my abilities and my commitment to especially hospitality and tourism. Over the years, and I've also encouraged those that have been part of my teams to make sure that. They move forward and they are in that position to give back and do meaningful things. The professional benefits that I've derived from this is, meeting influences within the industry, building relationships, nurturing connections to grow my network, there is no question that the. The learning and the leadership through the insights and the trends that helped me contribute not only to my personal knowledge, but also to my organization's strategic direction is very useful. And it's always interesting that whenever you're sharing, you're actually learning more than you than you learned before. So I believe in opportunities to pay it forward through, through mentorship. I've also felt like the. The ability to be part of these organizations has given me the opportunity to keep my saw sharp and stay relevant. As I mentioned earlier, staying relevant is so critical. And then I would say lastly, personal brand for somebody like myself has always been at the forefront strengthening my professional credibility, that visibility in the industry, and then. That has all led to some tremendous career opportunities, but over the years, having served in a role as a committee member, as a board member, and in many cases as the chair and it's really thanks to several people that have believed in me, including yourself, as I led the HCMI Foundation for a number of years it's just something that gives me a sense of doing something larger than Thank you. Just being part of my organization and being able to pay it forward by attracting talent that I believe should be in the hospitality and tourism industry than just letting that just fly away. As we've struggled with that over time. So truly helping folks understand why we are special. Is one of the big reasons I also have dedicated time to to industry events.

Dorothy Dowling:

Thank you for sharing that, Agneau, and I do think it is an opportunity for us all to engage in growth and foster some of those peer mentorships that, that mean so much to our career development. So I appreciate you sharing that. I'm also wondering if you would mind sharing because you've been in the industry for a long time, Agnello, and we know it's a cyclical business. There are many ups and downs in terms of economic cycles, but we've also had some pretty significant challenges in the industry, obviously most recently with the pandemic, but 9 11 and other things that have been pretty challenging as leaders to navigate. And I'm just wondering if you might share some of the lessons that you've had in terms of Learning how to make challenging statements.

Agnelo Fernandes:

Absolutely. Thank you for asking that question. I think it's a it's a critical element of my learning journey as I've gone through. But, as the pandemic being the most recent downturn that we experienced I think the most important thing that we can do as leaders is truly being empathetic to people. That's number one to me. Know that you're it's one human being dealing with another. But as a leader, Staying calm and not panicking actually brings a sense of calm to others. You're influencing others with your demeanor and that becomes really critical. Change is imminent during these times and so making sure that you're pausing before overreacting is something that I would strongly recommend. And while... We may assume things overcommunication is is really critical to the, to these times. It's always important, but I think even those specific times when people are lost overcommunicating is critical, especially if you're able to communicate verbally it's more effective. Staying confident, but... Remaining flexible and then focusing on the effort over the outcome. Because, in during times of uncertainty, it's hard to determine what that outcome could be because things are so dynamic. So focus on the effort and, celebrating every little option that you can. I know it's hard to do that, but it's really critical because those small wins that actually lead to some level of normalcy is really critical. And One thing that I leaned on a lot was, other than the people that I worked with, was the trust in something bigger and that it's destined to happen. And so I remained patient, made sure that everybody was, I brought everybody as much as I could together. We're a resilient bunch, and as hoteliers and tourism experts, I've seen that. And we... We were able to do so much without a playbook to work off of and, but I think the ones, the leaders that did it the best were able to stay calm and just be purpose driven and be humane. At the end of the day, we're in the people business and none more important of a time. When you have to think about people then in times of adversity,

Dorothy Dowling:

I know I love the way you speak about the contagiousness of leadership energy and leaders do set the stage and people look to the leader to understand and figure things out. So I do think that. Element of remaining calm and projecting positivity even through times of challenge is an amazing leadership quality, which I have observed in you many times over. As I said before, Kote family companies is fortunate to have you. I'm wondering if I can move a little bit on to a topic that is often spoken about in our industry, which is this work life balance challenge that we all have because of the hours. We're 24 7 business. And of course, all of the travel and you have been an incredible parent to your 2 daughters. Celeste and Nicole and your wife, who I know has been an amazing partner to you, but you've also done many things for Artie. But I also admire you Agnello in a very significant way because of the way you have navigated the elder care in your life to your parents, your mom. And now your dad. And I would love for you to share how you balance the very domestic role of being a CEO of a company and yet still being able to prioritize what your dad needs in terms of his support on his life journey.

Agnelo Fernandes:

Sure. So this is a very emotional topic for me, so I'll try and stay composed as I move forward. But you mentioned about my daughters, Nicole and Celeste, and There are several accolades and recognitions that I've received over time, but none of them ever compared to the pride that I take in talking about them as you've witnessed and their accomplishments. I, I truly consider them the oxygen that I need for every living moment and everything that I do. Somehow connects to what does it mean for them? What legacy am I leaving behind for them? And I'm very blessed with Artie in my life as a partner of 31 years of marriage. But about six years prior to that she's a constant support, always encouraging me to make sure that I go above and beyond. In fact, one of the biggest reasons that I took this role was because of her. Her comments to me is you just got to go and push forward. You've been supporting many along the way it's time to be you. And so that was just a flat out incredible. I also have to mention my, my, my brother, Steven who lives in Dubai and we talk on almost a regular base, almost daily basis, I'm sorry, and also a sense of support, with, when it comes to my dad as a. We lost my mom last year, so he's by himself in India, and it's a tough time, but you know what, I look at it in the sense that he made sacrifices for us, I saw his work ethic, I saw the, what he put out there, I saw what he did for us, and it's time to give back, and I will do everything I possibly can along with my brother to make sure that, in his latter years that he is, enjoying some level of that respect and that give back that we want what we want for him. In terms of the balance it's never easy, right? But I'm trying to seek harmony from all different angles, whether it's with Artie or my daughters or even connecting with my brother on a regular basis. And more importantly, my dad. And there are times that, I do sit back and reflect and you know what? I'd love to enjoy a vacations, more vacations or more time time off and do and enjoy different cultures. The priority is is my dad. And so at this particular point in juncture in my life, that's front and center. Everything else is gonna have to take a backseat and I'm blessed with a very supportive family that understands that. Having said that I do have to make sure that I don't lose track of other the other facets of my life. I make sure that I'm dedicating time to connect with family members on a regular basis as much as I, I do my work. Our, coming from an Indian heritage one of the things that we do value in our parents is is what they have done in terms of sacrifice, and that sacrifice turns into respect. And clearly for me that it is going to be a huge commitment and as long as I sit down and plan and think through things and make sure I attend to what matters most at that point in time, I'm able to seek some level of harmony.

Dorothy Dowling:

I just want to commend you, Agnello, because I do think you represent the new type of leadership that all teammates are hungry for because you give permission for people to bring their whole selves to work and have, understand the responsibilities that they have outside of work, which I think makes everyone more productive. And I also just commend you because I know that. Your daughters in particular are a very significant pride point. And, it's amazing to see the allyship that you extend to them as well to other women in our industry. So I'm always grateful to see you in terms of what you do from mentoring women and advocating for them. So thank you. I'm wondering if I can ask one more question on the business side, Agnello, because you explained your career and all of the different facets of your learning and growth journey. But, in your formal role at Terranea, and then certainly as you have joined co companies, you have a very strong, development purpose in terms of driving new business acquisitions driving activation at those businesses to make sure they're going to be very successful additions to the portfolio and really responding to investors because obviously they're the ones that have put their money into the real estate part of the investment. So I'm just wondering if you can. Offer again, some of the wisdom that you have, how you approach business development, how you approach investor returns, and how you really support transitioning when you take on a new asset and really build it to those optimal performance outcomes.

Agnelo Fernandes:

Absolutely. Obviously my time at Terrania was incredible and it is an irreplaceable asset. And the brand building that I was part of and spearheaded has definitely been one of the significant accomplishments in my career. And then, But I think that the highlight is definitely my role as the CEO at code family at companies as we're gonna embark on this new journey. But truly, in terms of business development and investor relations, right? It all starts with, that reputation off being somebody that they can count on. And when I say that and it goes back to my comments earlier, it's, being impeccable with what I say I'm going to do and making sure that I'm truly focused on what that is. It's so easy to get distracted and today's world and all the activities that come with it. For me, as I think about business development and approach, I do tend to fall back on our values and it starts and ends with me for with integrity. Everything else follows through. I look at it as, through my years of experience, most times when we've been able to. Move the needle on a deal. It has been because number one, we've made a connection with, the other party and it doesn't matter who it is. It could be your own team. It could also, obviously for the most part it's the potential partners that you're going to bring in. Once you, once I formed that connection and in a genuine and authentic way, Letting them know that here are our capabilities in all earnest, never being in a position to overstate or lie to them. But they, they can pick your partner in a nanosecond. And then knowing that letting them know that we will improve on some of the things that, are not in place right now. I found that, just being honest and straight up has been a huge a huge win for for us whenever they've selected us because they'll say we've selected you because we connected with you. We connected with you because you were honest, you were authentic and you told us what it is. And as we do that and then, putting together the formalities of a transition plan and then keeping them up to date leads me to the second point after the connection piece is really about being communicative. Thank you. And, I believe in over communicating, especially when it comes to things like this and making sure that they understand what we're doing, why we're doing it and how we're going to do it. And then, most importantly, when they when will they know that we actually accomplished this and saying, making sure that they understand the milestones and how we are tracking then builds that level of trust and confidence. And at the end of the day, they always look at and at things and ask that one question, can we count on you? And I want to be sure that I'm answering that in the most meaningful. And that has led to a lot of success.

Dorothy Dowling:

Wow. Thank you. I just think that level of engagement and building that trust and commitment in terms of business delivery, but also in terms of just being honest and open in terms of the business relations are, is incredible advice for us all. And you articulated it so beautifully. So thank you. So we're coming up to the close of our interview, Agnello, and we always ask every DEI advisor as we come to the close, is there any other Wisdom that you would like to share with our audience today from your experience in this industry.

Agnelo Fernandes:

Absolutely. I'm, from my personal perspective, obviously I've always been somebody that's been curious and I've always been on that quest to find my passion and uncover what is my superpower. And, over the years, and it always keeps. I keep tweaking it, but my passion is really about connecting with people and creating value for them, being a trusted resource as much as I can, whether it's to my family, my friends, my colleagues and my superpower is really my ability to pause and respond over impulse reaction. So I always recommend that people, Keep thinking about what they are, what their passion is, what is their purpose, what is their superpower but always keep grinding and, stay optimistic because When you keep your ears to the ground and you keep raising your hand, your time will come. I can promise you that. I've been part of several conversations where, you're always in that optimistic mode and you're like, when will my time come? But your time will come because, and it'll come when you know how to nurture relationships, knowing that you cannot go at it alone. And at some point, you've got to stop being a cheerleader for everybody else and say, Let me bet on me. And that's actually that actually changed the game. And it was actually already that sort of helped me think about it. And and my brother Stephen that said, start betting on yourself and start believing in you and your superpower. And that led You know, to me led me to dig deep and listen to my heart and, along the way, as I said, you can never do this alone. And so I chose my advocacy circle very carefully. I will tell you that, and just being blunt, not everyone is keen on what level of success you achieve or not. But there are a handful of those, and then you hold onto them very dear and you are, you, my friend, are one of them. And, at the end of the day you're gonna get rejected. Don't let that get you down. But yet, don't settle, and don't rush the process. Worry about what you can control. And I always think about it this way, the more you worry about the future, the more you get lost in the present. So control what you can control now and power on power through with the mindset of excellence and results will follow. I

Dorothy Dowling:

know. Thank you. That's such a brilliant close to our interview today in terms of sharing your grittiness in terms of your career journey and all of the things that have powered you to the success that you have today. So there are many followers, but you have a large followership community because you have invested so much in relations and I'm really grateful that I have been one of the benefactors of that. So thank you for taking the time to be with us today. And if I could also express my gratitude to our audience, if you have enjoyed this interview with Agnello, I hope you will come and visit our website because we have other DEI advisors that have joined us through webcasts and podcasts. At DEIAdvisors. org, this is where you can find all of these industry leaders and hopefully learn from them to empower your knowledge and feel your spirit. Agnello, thank you again and to our audience. Thank you for joining us today.

Agnelo Fernandes:

Thank you.