Two Days of Connecting, Collaborating and Learning Among Foodservice's Top Key Executives

The Women’s Foodservice Forum wrapped up its second annual Executive Women’s Summit (EWS) October 16th – 18th at the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. More than 120 of the foodservice industry’s most senior level executives attended the event to convene and work together to help each other achieve their professional development goals.

“The Executive Women’s Summit is a unique opportunity for executive level women to discuss business issues and further develop their skills in a collaborative atmosphere,” said Sylvia Wulf, chair of the Executive Women’s Summit and vice president of sales and marketing for Bakery Chef LLC. “The EWS programming focuses on topics that are of significant interest to foodservice executives. The event reinforces the WFF’s commitment to elevating more women into top jobs, a strategic milestone of the WFF’s Roadmap to Results. “

A highlight of the Summit was a keynote speech delivered Ann Compton, chief White House correspondent for ABC News. Ms. Compton captivated attendees by sharing her personal stories of struggle and success to become the first woman assigned to cover the White House by a television network.

A CEO panel, moderated by Alice Elliot of The Elliot Group, featured a compelling group of executives that discussed how to achieve success at the senior level. The panel featured Doug Baker, president & CEO of Ecolab, Inc., Edna Morris, executive director of the James Beard Foundation, David Goronkin, CEO of Famous Dave’s of America, Sheri Miksa, president and CEO of Rubio’s Restaurants, Inc. and Bill Downs, president & CEO of bd’s Mongolian Barbeque.

Attendees also listened to a valuable Board Readiness presentation by Michele Hooper, managing partner of The Director’s Council, which discussed the key issues women need to consider before taking a seat on a board of directors. Directly following was a workshop on executive decision-making at the board level facilitated by Dr. Victoria Medvec, executive director for the Center of Executive Women at Northwestern University.

“The combination of the talent that attends EWS along with the program quality makes this an outstanding event,” said Jean Birch, EWS attendee and president of Romano’s Macaroni Grill. “EWS provides a great opportunity to hear successful individuals talk candidly about what it’s like to be a CEO and the challenges that go along with that. It has truly been a tremendous experience for me.”

Sponsors of the 2005 Executive Women’s Summit include: bd’s Mongolian Barbecue, Cheeseburger Restaurants, Coca-Cola, Ecolab, Famous Dave’s, Gallo Winery, General Mills Bakeries & Foodservice, Greenhouse, Haynes Boone, McDonald’s, PepsiCo Foodservice, Sodexho, Starbucks Coffee, US Foodservice and Unicru.

With more than 2,200 members from all segments of the foodservice industry, including restaurant operations, manufacturing, distribution, publishing and consulting, Women’s Foodservice Forum is committed to helping elevate women leaders. Through highly beneficial keynote addresses and workshops at the Annual Leadership Development Conference, Regional Connect events, mentoring and more, WFF provides members with the tools needed to make a positive difference in their careers. For more information about Women’s Foodservice Forum, please visit the website www.womensfoodserviceforum.com.