Podcast Episode
Ep 13 Part 2: Advancing Women Leaders and Balancing Purpose and Profit in Restaurants
About this episode
Host Tal Clark continues his conversation with Melissa Doolin-Koehne of Elevate 4 about advocacy for women in restaurant leadership and building purpose alongside profit. Melissa cites industry stats showing women are about 33% of executives but only 10% of CEOs. They also talk about restaurant industry challenges. She explains that cutting training or wages may save money short term but erodes brands, urging servant leadership and care for all stakeholders, including vendors. The discussion covers employee financial wellness, earned wage access, and the importance of employee experience, including manager investment, scheduling flexibility, childcare challenges, immigration impacts, and financial education. In rapid-fire, Melissa shares leadership principles, career advice to choose leaders over brands, and excitement for more intentional operations supported by smarter tools and data.00:00 Welcome Back and Setup00:42 Women in Restaurant Leadership02:13 Executive Retreat and Allies03:51 Women CEOs and Industry Trends05:18 Purpose and Profit Playbook08:20 Earned Wage Access and Wellness10:12 Culture First and Realities14:18 Hiring Flexibility and Benefits18:42 Rapid Fire Leadership Lessons22:18 Closing Thanks and Where to FollowInstant Financial: instant.coConnect with Tal Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-clark-a60776b/ Connect with Melissa Doolin-Koehne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-doolin-koehne/ References:Women's Foodservice Forum Conference: https://www.wff.org Women in Restaurant Leadership Conference: https://womenleadrestaurants.com/ Cracker Barrel CEO: https://investor.crackerbarrel.com/management/julie-felss-masino Whataburger CEO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-stroud-88149540 Habit Burger CEO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-hennessy-hbg Taco John's CEO: https://tacojohns.com/company/leadership/ Conscious Capitalism by John Mackey: https://a.co/d/0gXzI4tS Chick-fil-A Careers: https://www.chick-fil-a.com/careers FinFit: https://www.finfit.com/ Texas Restaurant Association: https://txrestaurant.org/ Texas Restaurant Foundation: https://www.txrestaurant.org/TRF/ Black Box Intelligence: https://blackboxintelligence.com/ Raising Cane's: https://www.raisingcanes.com/home/