If there is one thing about Catherine Antenucci, assistant director of engineering, Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa, is that she leads by example. No matter the tasks in front of her, she is able to achieve best results by connecting with her peers and further develop her career.
Antenucci was one of eight facility professionals to be named to FacilitiesNet’s third annual Facility Champion award. The Champions play a critical role in ensuring the efficient and effective operation of buildings across the country, all while exhibiting strong leadership and pride within the industry.
“I am deeply honored to receive the Facility Champion Award, especially in this traditionally male-dominated field,” Antenucci says. “This recognition not only validates my dedication and hard work but also inspires me to keep paving the way for more women in engineering. I am grateful for this opportunity and excited to contribute further to our industry’s progress.”
Her current role requires that runs daily operations of the property as well as overlooking larger renovation projects on site. She leads her team and helps prepare for guest room and meeting room renovations, facade repair and restaurant concept renovation. While a renovation is challenging at any facility, it is especially daunting trying to adhere to guest satisfaction and ensuring that all project expectations are achieved on schedule and on budget.
“One key project that led to success in my career was our on-site full garage renovation with repairs to post tension cables,” Antenucci says. “This was obviously a very loud project that required daily jackhammering, drilling and chipping, all while maintaining high occupancy and having meeting spaces occupied by groups throughout the duration of this project. I quickly learned the importance of balancing guest needs with building needs... This project lasted a few months, and it taught me to see where there’s opportunity to help the guest needs of maintaining noise levels, while learning where to hold the line on the important but loud work that needs to be completed.”
For Antenucci, it has been essential to communicate and create relationships with contractors during a project. A common challenge that she has faced is managing different layers and moving parts around property. With many renovations currently underway, she finds herself finding the balance of quick problem-solving skills, planning and time management.
“Time management and planning has a large impact on my daily duties,” Antenucci says. “The engineering department has a lot to juggle around property, such as day to day operations, regular maintenance of equipment, guest calls, public space calls, engineering projects and upgrades, requests from other departments; When multiple major on-site renovations are added to the mix, those management skills become more crucial.”
Even in her tenure, Antenucci is not afraid to ask questions and learn new things and encourages her team to do the same. She regularly checks in with team members and helps provide input to projects to ensure that all bases are covered or help generate a back-up plan if the original one has an issue.
“Being a manager means being the one of the first life lines your team has when something goes wrong,” Antenucci says. “It's our job to try and always have the answers they need. It is also good to remember that it is not the end of the world if you don't know something, hence the importance of asking questions to learn from it. I live by this piece of advice: You should never be the smartest person in the room, and if you are, you are in the wrong room.”
The 2024 Facility Champions will be recognized as part of a webcast that will air on November 12 at 11 a.m. ET on FacilitiesNet. Register for the webcast here.
Mackenna Moralez is the associate editor of the facilities market.
