Paul Bellantone: An Exit Interview

On Nov 17, 2020, Paul Bellantone announced his decision to step down as President and CEO of PPAI. Paul joined PPAI in 1998 and worked his way to the CEO position in 2011, a role he will serve until March 2021. In his 2 decades at PPAI, he helped steer the organization through choppy waters - like 9/11, the financial collapse of 2008-2009, the shooting at the Mandalay Bay mere months before Expo 2018, and multiple legislative threats. And with the current coronavirus pandemic, Paul’s steady hand has guided an industry that’s had to adjust to a whole new way of doing business. Since PromoKitchen started in 2011, we have had the opportunity to interview Paul on several different occasions. Looking back at the episodes since 2012 is an interesting time capsule of his time as CEO. In this episode, chefs Mark Graham (commonsku) and Danny Rosin (Brand Fuel) sit down with Paul to explore the reasons behind his decision to step down, what he thinks about the future of the industry and also what’s next for him professionally. This is a longer episode than usual and we invite you to settle in as we map Paul’s time at PPAI with the broader trends that have impacted our industry. After the interview is over, we have created a highlight reel of some of our past episodes with Paul, starting from 2012 all the way up to March 2020 when the global pandemic was starting to wreak havoc on our industry. We hope you enjoy this wind ranging discussion with Paul