INDIVIDUALS BRIAN WHITAKER BRADLEE WHITSON Senior Director of Business Operations, USA Technologies Operations Manager, K&R Vending Services Whitaker joined USA Technologies in 2018 after spending more than 20 years with the Brian Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated in Whitaker North Carolina. He began his career with the company as an on-premise route salesman and worked in many other positions including on-premise vending/ fountain account management, territory delivery and sales manager, and director of vending. He has a keen understanding of the industry from both sides, which makes him invaluable to colleagues and customers alike. Whitaker understands how important data is to an operator; the challenges some operators face is the lack of access to data, data accuracy, or understanding what the data is telling them. Whitaker's goal is to simplify the data and make it easy to drive key business decisions. Whitson is a third-generation operator, formally starting at K&R Vending Services in Bradlee 2007. In 2020, Whitson undertook a top-toWhitson bottom review of his operation in response to COVID-19. He worked with impacted locations to find safe methods to service locations that were remaining open while preparing those that closed for their eventual reopening. He used the downtime (and extra staffing) to reset micro markets and vending banks and help prepare them to accelerate sales as staff returned to locations. He undertook internal operational projects to improve efficiencies while allowing for flexibility to deal with new challenges. Whitson is a forward thinker and is incredibly savvy with technology and how systems can integrate to perform at maximum level for both a foodservice company and its customers. 2020 CONGRATULATIONS TO TECH 2 SUCCESS' BRIAN BUTRYM & ALL OF THE PROS TO KNOW AWARD WINNERS. Cloud Hosting | OCS E-Commerce | Web Site Design OptConnect Wireless Solutions | Digital Marketing MS Office 365 | Cyber Security & Backup Solutions www.Tech2Success.com December 2020 * VendingMarketWatch.com 21http://www.Tech2Success.com http://www.VendingMarketWatch.com