Interviewing Phillip St. Pierre, the new manager at Westfield Garden State Plaza

Phillip St. Pierre We had just concluded the Westfield 9/11 Memorial Service and Phillip St. Pierre and I started walking back to his office. 

First words out of his mouth were "Would you like something to eat?" When I declined, this hospitable Senior General Manager refused to eat until the interview was over. Of course in his office, he also offered a choice of beverages, a complete gentleman. I felt badly about his lack of a meal, but must admit I wanted to get to the interview.
Sitting down at the table in his office, we continued chatting and exchanging thoughts and pleasantries. Needless to say, his charm came through without any effort. Let me add that he was also very candid and did not try to evade any questions or suggestions. Despite the empty stomach, he gave me all the time that was needed without a hint of trying to brush me off.

Having heard him referred to as Phil and Phillip, there was a question of which he preferred. Explained was that when he joined Westfield, there was another Phil and of course you can't have two Phils in the same office so he became Phillip. Modestly he said to call him either, he had no preference. Of course one had to ask about the Saint appellation and this came from his grandfather who was French Canadian. Phil was born in the USA!

When he was working in Switzerland, he did run into a language barrier since that particular section spoke four languages. He had to get up early so he could purchase the English edition of the newspaper before they ran out. Learning German was a must if he wanted to eat. Of course when he went to England, there was no problem.

Next question was about his qualifications for becoming a Westfield manager. Very frankly, he said that he ran a ski resort in Tahoe for 18 years and then another near Seattle. After 20 years of that, it became tiresome and he started looking at new horizons. A friend mentioned Westfield; he applied, was interviewed, was accepted and thus at a later stage in life became a mall manager. Managing the ski resort gave him the background for dealing with people.

Matt Ehrie was the next question posed. Phil explained that Matt was promoted to Regional Vice-President for the East Coast. While he is still seen in Paramus, it is far less often. However, he did such a fine job here that it made life easier for his successor. That plus the fine staff that Mr. St. Pierre inherited also helped to make a smooth transition.

Quite the traveler, Phil heard about the opportunity while covering Westfield UK. He had been over in England for about a year and was asked if he wanted to return home. Although sorry to leave Great Britain, he wanted to return home! He and his wife shopped for a home in the area and in a weekend marathon visited 40 homes in 2 days before settling on a house with a terrace and room for their pet Doberman.

Once he gets a season under his belt, Phil has many plans for making things comfortable for the shoppers. One of them is a basic convenience, the restrooms, another is parking! Undaunted by the fact that this is the largest Westfield property, this unassuming manager has assimilated as much knowledge as possible. A "hands on" executive he is ready to learn at all levels; a daunting task.

Of particular interest was the way he researched Paramus from overseas. He logged on to www.ParamusPost.com to get a background and a feel for the community. He and Lesley, his wife, learned about Paramus and how friendly the town can be. This was also shown when he and Lisa Herrmann, Westfield Marketing Director, attended the Paramus 9/11 observance at the Cliff Gennarelli Sports Complex that evening. It was a whirlwind time meeting and greeting members of the Paramus governing community.

His goals are high and he feels that he and Lesley made the right decision, he never felt more welcome!