Bill Lodzinski on Running a Private OOH Company

Bill Lodzinski, President and CEO

Bill Lodzinski was named President and CEO of West Virginia Outdoor in May 2021 after a 29 year career in the out of home business including stints at Link Media, Associated Posters, Fairway, Outfront and Lamar.  Bill reflects on his first 100 days at West Virginia Outdoor.

What did you focus on?

The first priority upon my arrival was to develop and establish a relationship with my team.  It has always been important for me to make sure I take care of the people in my charge.   The untimely and unexpected passing of my predecessor was traumatic for this group.  A new leader and the fear of the unknown added additional stressors.  It was important that I connect with each team member, ease their concerns and start building a foundation of trust.  In any leadership transitional scenario, slow and steady is the key.  Observing the existing work flow, procedural approaches and team dynamics is critical.  Abrupt changes are disruptive.  Let them continue to do what they do best, modify and enhance what needs improvement and judicially eliminate what isn’t working.   It should never be about me, it should always be about them.  WV Outdoor is a well – run company and they’re the reason behind it.  Fostering the right culture, communicating a shared vision and empowering your team to be brave in what they do is all part of the “Buy In”

Did you make changes?

One of the most fundamental changes I’ve made ties in to what I just mentioned above…a change in our approach to our people. The change in mind set further drives a shared vision.  Which in turns, gets reflected to our customers, our shareholders and the company’s overall health.

From a more nuts and bolts standpoint, I made changes in our approach to expenditures. Eliminating unnecessary products and services, as well as reviewing our existing vendors.  I’ve been successful in leveraging relationships to enhance pricing, quality, service and consistency.

The difference between a private out of home company and a public out of home company

WV is indeed a private “family” company, but let me dispel any notion that this is a run of the mill “Mom and Pop” operation.  We have a supportive, well rounded and forward-thinking Board of Directors, as well as group of shareholders that have strong business acumen.   We may not have the immense resources that a public out of home company has at their disposal, but we have strong enough capabilities that work within our footprint.   In my opinion, we are just as sophisticated, relevant and progressive as the large public out of home companies.

The difference in working for a company like ours and a large public out of home company, is the speed in which we can get things done.  We have fewer restrictions and layers to navigate.  Furthermore, we are very nimble and flexible in many aspects of our business.

Supply chain issues

We’ve seen additional weeks added to the delivery of Digital Screens from our vendors, but nothing too detrimental.  Also, we’ve seen price increases from several vendors that have been directly impacted by supply chain driven cost of goods increases.   Beyond that, the effects of supply chain issues have been minor.

Priorities for 2022?

Our main priority for the coming year is to continue our momentum from 2021 and maintain our trajectory for team development, sales growth, and EBITDA enhancement.   Other priorities for the coming year are to continue our strategic digital deployments, strengthen our community and legislative presence and utilize the resources available through OAAA, IBO, and Geopath.

[wpforms id=”9787″]


Paid Advertisement

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

2 Comments

  1. Congratulations Bill!

  2. Congrats Bill! Great interview.