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Kathleen Wood named President, Chief Operating Officer of Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers

Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers has hired veteran industry leader Kathleen Wood as its new president and chief operating officer. Wood will work side by side with Raising Cane's founder and CEO Todd Graves in his efforts to grow the business through both company- owned and franchise locations.

July 20, 2005

BATON ROUGE, La., June 21, 2005 /PRNewswire -- Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers has hired veteran industry leader Kathleen Wood as its new president and chief operating officer. Wood will work side by side with Raising Cane's founder and CEO Todd Graves in his efforts to grow the business through both company- owned and franchise locations. As Graves' trusted advisor for more than six years, Wood has been actively involved in the development of Raising Cane's strategic planning and organizational development processes to support both corporate and franchise growth. Additionally, she was instrumental in the architecture of the corporate infrastructure and systems development for the companies operations, human resources, marketing, training, recruiting and new store openings.Wood's accomplishments include 30 years of foodservice experience with companies such as McDonald's, Taco Bell, TGI Friday's, MasterCard and the Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association. In 1996, she co-founded Elliot Solutions, a premiere consulting firm for growing and emerging hospitality organizations. She's worked directly with an impressive list of companies including P.F. Chang's, McAlister's Deli, Buca di Beppo, Church's Chicken and Famous Dave's. Most recently she served as a co-founder and first President of The Elliot Leadership Institute -- a non-profit dedicated to the development and advancement of foodservice executives. "I have always had great respect for Kathleen because of her passion, enthusiasm and excitement about the foodservice industry and its people," said Graves. "As our company grows, it's important to expand our leadership team with people who share our commitment to quality as well as our operational and cultural fanaticism," he added. "I have had the good fortune of working with some our industry's most dynamic leaders," said Wood. "From the very first time I met Todd, it was clear he was one those rare individuals with the vision to see great success where others could see nothing. Todd not only sees his vision, he lives it with awe-inspiring passion and I am totally confident that Raising Cane's truly is the next great brand. Raising Cane's has the perfect formula for success -- an awesome product, a contagious cool culture, and a great crew." Wood has served on many industry-related boards including the Women's Foodservice Forum and Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers. She is a national speaker and leader in the industry on subject matters ranging from diversity, leadership development, strategic planning and executive career development. Raising Cane's opened its first location in August of 1996 near the gates of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Today, the company operates 27 restaurants in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, and franchise locations in Ohio and Colorado.source::Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers