Experienced Hospitality Chief Operating Officer
Interim & Fractional COO Leadership
Growth · Transformation · Turnarounds · Complex Operations
Pivotal Organizational Moments
Experienced, steady operating leadership when the organization needs it most.
When hospitality CEOs, owners, partners and boards face an unexpected leadership loss, a significant growth opportunity or transition, an organization with the opportunity to move to a substantially higher level of performance, or operating challenges that require meaningful change, they may need experienced operating leadership—and someone they can trust.
Paul Buck brings more than 50 years of operating and executive leadership experience to these situations, from opening hospitality operations at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center to senior leadership at MoMA with Union Square Hospitality Group and executive leadership with Patina Restaurant Group, the Harvard Club of New York City and M&T Bank.
Throughout his career, Paul has led significant, complex organizations—building high-performing teams, navigating transitions and openings, strengthening operating and financial performance, and continually raising the standards of the businesses and brands he has been entrusted to lead.
Today, through BUCK Hospitality, Paul brings that depth of operating leadership directly to CEOs, owners and partners as an Interim or Fractional COO during their organizations' most consequential moments.
Paul works from inside the organization with the people responsible for the business to understand what is really happening, establish direction, strengthen performance, create accountability and take responsibility for execution—with the objective of developing stronger leaders, building high-performing teams and leaving behind an operating structure the organization can own and sustain.
Lead the Work. Strengthen the Organization.
Paul begins by listening—to the CEO, owners, leadership team and the people closest to the work—to understand the business, its people, what the organization is trying to accomplish, the values intended to guide it, and what is really happening within the operation.
Drawing on what he learns and his depth of operating experience, Paul develops a plan and clear priorities, reviews them with the CEO and appropriate leaders, and then leads the work through execution. Responsibilities are clear, progress is measured and communicated, and the plan is adjusted as circumstances require.
The objective is to accomplish what he was brought in to do while leaving behind stronger leaders, high-performing teams and an organization better equipped to sustain the progress after he leaves.
Plan with Purpose. Lead with Direction.
Plan with Purpose — Understand the business, its people and what the organization is trying to accomplish. Listen to the people closest to the work and draw on their knowledge and perspective. Then develop the plan, establish the priorities, and make sure the CEO and the people responsible for carrying it out understand the why, the direction and their role in its execution.
Lead with Direction — Make sure people understand where the organization is going and their role in getting there. Establish accountability, stay engaged, measure and report progress, and adjust as circumstances change.
Services
BUCK Hospitality provides experienced operating leadership to CEOs, owners, partners and boards facing significant periods of growth, transition, transformation or operating challenge.
Interim COO — Paul steps into the COO role for a defined period, assumes responsibility for the operation and leads the work from assessment through execution.
Fractional COO — Paul becomes part of the leadership team, working alongside the CEO, owners and senior leaders to provide experienced operating leadership, establish accountability and remain engaged through execution.
Advisory & Project Leadership — BUCK Hospitality also undertakes select advisory and project assignments where Paul's operating experience can provide meaningful value to the organization.
Hospitality That Reflects the Institution
Leading cultural institutions hold themselves to exceptional standards in their programming, collections, performances and the experiences they create for their audiences. Their hospitality should reflect those same standards.
Paul has spent much of his career at the intersection of hospitality and the arts, leading hospitality operations within museums and performing arts institutions across the country. He understands the relationship between the institution and its hospitality operation—and the importance of ensuring that the two support and strengthen one another.
Through BUCK Hospitality, Paul works with institutional and hospitality leadership to understand the existing operation, listen to the organization, its people and the guests it serves, identify opportunities, and explore how food and beverage, events and other elements of hospitality can better reflect the character, quality and aspirations of the institution.
Does the hospitality experience reflect the same standard of excellence as the institution itself?
Discuss Your Organization's Next Chapter
Every engagement begins with a confidential conversation about the organization, its people, the situation at hand and what needs to be accomplished.
Start a Confidential Conversation
paul@buckhc.com