International Women's Day

Kat Cole: 'Female leaders must mentor other women'

Kat Cole started in the industry as a hostess when she was 17. She now leads Focus Brands, overseeing 4,500 ice cream shops, bakeries, restaurants, and cafes in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 60 foreign countries.

March 13, 2017 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Editor's note: In honor of International Women's Day and Women's History Month, FastCasual interviewed several female leaders in the restaurant industry to learn about their success and how they feel about leading in a male-dominated industry. To read the entire series, click here.

Kat Cole, group president of Focus Brands, started in the industry as a hostess at Hooters when she was 17. By age 26, she had worked her way up to an executive vice president there and became president of Cinnabon by age 35. Two years ago, she was made group president at the brand's parent company, Focus Brands, where she is responsible for building revenues and profits through global licensing, manufacturing and e-commerce.

Cole, an advocate for women business leaders, believes women in the industry should help one another.

"Be sure to mentor and develop other young leaders," she said. "Giving young employees strong female role models re-frames what they believe is possible for themselves and builds experience with diverse leadership."

Got her start in the biz
Cole started as a restaurant hostess at the age of 17.

On why women make great leaders
"It's proven that diverse leadership drives better results (financially and culturally) — so more women means more success for our industry. In addition, women hold massive amounts of purchasing power, and it's important to have leadership that represents the communities it serves (and employs)."

Advice to women looking to lead
"No job is too small or too large — restaurants are intricate ecosystems, and the more you deeply understand every element, you will be positioned to be a stronger and more successful leader.

Focus on taking care of your team, your guests and your business. Restaurants are successful when those things are singing in harmony. It doesn't matter if you are male or female. Driving results in restaurants comes from a combination of strong operations, marketing and service capabilities paired with high touch, people and heart-centered leadership approach."

Operations

About Cherryh Cansler

Cherryh Cansler is VP of Events for Networld Media Group and publisher of FastCasual.com. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.

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