The LPM “Magpie” Awards offer a means to celebrate industry accomplishments on an ongoing basis, recognizing the loss prevention professionals, teams, solution providers, law enforcement partners, and others that demonstrate a stellar contribution to the profession.
Excellence in Leadership
John Voytilla, SVP of Operational Excellence for Construction, Facilities, LP, Safety, Procurement, and Project Management, Party City
“Driving shrink down and saving millions of dollars for an organization is fun and exciting,” said Voytilla. “But having the opportunity to hire, train, and build great teams is the most rewarding part of the business. Seeing individuals that I’ve had the privilege to lead, now leading strong organizations and becoming leaders in the industry—that’s what I cherish the most.”
Voytilla started his LP career as a store detective to help with college expenses. Nearing graduation, he accepted an LP manager role with Gold Circle Stores, which led to multistore roles with TJ Maxx and Montgomery Ward. He later accepted his first director position with OfficeMax. “I learned what it meant to have a vision for building an organization and helping the company grow, becoming an officer of the company and having the privilege to lead the loss prevention and safety programs through two mergers in the process.”
Two years ago, Voytilla joined Party City to build an in-house professional LP organization while assuming additional responsibility for construction, facilities, procurement, and project management.
Voytilla also believes in contributing to the industry in other ways. He’s been very active with the Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC), currently serving on the Board of Advisors (BOA) and previously serving as chairman of the BOA from 2014 to 2017. He also served as a member of the National Retail Federation LP Council for a number of years.
“To be a true leader in the industry, you must have integrity, humility, relentless focus, and be disciplined in all aspects of the business,” he said. “Don’t focus on a title. It’s more important to learn all the different areas of your company and take advantage of the opportunities presented to you. Volunteer for stretch assignments and be a learner. When you make a mistake, own it and move on. Finally, as a leader you need to listen to those closest to the work. They’ll provide you unfiltered feedback—you just need to ask for it.”
Nominate Your Peers
Those of you working as LP practitioners witness these exceptional performances on a regular and ongoing basis, and we strongly encourage you to provide us with nominees for each of the award categories. We encourage creative nominations and want the program to cast a positive light on the many tremendous contributions of the loss prevention community. Nominations can be submitted via email to excellence [at] LPportal.com.
