It was only three months ago that Ralph Ostertag from Mercedes-Benz Canada and Humza Teherany from Compass Group Canada were chatting informally. Despite their companies’ different product offerings, they soon realized that they were facing similar challenges, especially in their retail customer experience environments. They surmised that working with young startups could very well be the key to creating and executing these much needed solutions with a shorter turnaround and a more focused approach than by using traditional means.
“As an industry leader in hospitality, retail and food services, we understand that to grow and maintain our market dominance over the long term, it’s all about driving great consumer experiences, through innovation,” said Humza Teherany, Chief Innovation Officer, Compass Group Canada, and VP, CIOCAN National Board. “Young startups offer the agility and creative thinking that larger organizations require to unplug innovation bottlenecks along with access to new energy, talent and enthusiasm.”
With the proliferation of young and very successful Canadian startups, it was a timely opportunity for both firms to seek out potential associates to help them develop turnkey retail experience solutions. It was decided that the search for these partners would be done in the form of a startup competition.
Final pitches to the judges and winners were announced at an event in the distillery district on March 1. Humza is pictured here with the team from Nudge Rewards, winners of the People’s Choice, Compass Group Pilot, and Mercedes-Benz Pilot awards.
Click here to read the complete news release.