John Reardon has spent decades gaining deep expertise not only on the procurement side of the hospitality business but in operations as well, so he knows first-hand how supply chain management impacts the guest experience. His expertise helps CORE Insights Group's clients to make sourcing decisions that truly benefit their businesses.
Two decades in hospitality operations
John's path to strategic sourcing did not start in procurement. It started on the floor, in the day-to-day work of running hospitality operations, where he learned how every buying decision eventually reaches the guest.
Discovering a passion for sourcing
After his operations career, John was hired by a consulting company to do operations consulting, and it was there he discovered his passion for sourcing. That path led him to join CORE co-founder Paul Davis at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, where he spent 13 years working his way up to lead the company's sourcing team. He was ultimately named one of their top 100 leaders, an honor he is quick to credit to the amazing team around him.
“Starwood was a perfect match for me because it was an entrepreneurial company that empowered people,” said John.
Skill, luck, and an obsession with details
Ask John how he got here, and he credits a mix of skill, luck, and an unusual attention to the fine print of every deal.
“There’s always a degree of luck in success – for me it was having great leaders and mentors, surrounded by sourcing experts. But I do have some innate qualities that helped: I’m a workaholic, I don’t like to lose, and I’m a worrier. I like the minutia of things – the really, really nuanced details. That’s what powers my ability, and that’s where I believe I excel.”
Why CORE Insights Group
For John, the move to CORE has been a great next step in his career, and a chance to work on a team built for speed.
CORE as an evolving tech company
John makes the point that CORE is an evolving tech company in many ways, focused on delivering solutions that are scalable, repeatable, and can be implemented quickly without a huge list of deliverables the client needs to accomplish first.
The next five years of strategic sourcing
CORE's focus on technology, John believes, will help the team adapt to whatever the future holds for the industry.
“I absolutely believe that strategic sourcing has the potential to be modified and changed tremendously by technology over the next five years,” said John. “I believe the industry is going to change a lot – and, at CORE, we’re on the front edge.”
Frequently asked questions
Who is John Reardon at CORE Insights Group?
John Reardon is SVP Strategic Sourcing at CORE Insights Group. He spent two decades in hospitality operations, rising from manager on duty to general manager, before moving into sourcing. He then spent 13 years at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, where he worked his way up to lead the sourcing team and was named one of the company's top 100 leaders, an honor he credits to having an amazing team around him. He brings a rare combination of operations and procurement expertise to CORE's clients.
What makes John Reardon's background unusual in procurement?
John built deep expertise on both sides of the hospitality business, operations and procurement. Because he came up through operations, from manager on duty to general manager, he understands first-hand how supply chain and sourcing decisions affect the guest experience. That dual perspective helps CORE's clients make sourcing decisions that genuinely benefit their businesses.
What is CORE's Procurement Center of Excellence?
It is a CORE Insights Group initiative that John Reardon points to as central to how the team delivers value. As he describes it, the goal is to make sourcing so user-friendly and linear for clients that it reduces the need for change management, delivering value through repeatable processes that are fast, nimble, and structured.