Kathleen Wood

Kathleen Wood is the founder of Kathleen Wood Partners, LLC, an innovative growth strategy and business development firm, specializing in building and turning around businesses for new levels of success and profitability. Wood and her partners offer consulting services, career coaching, keynote presentations, and result-driven solutions for hospitality, healthcare, service, manufacturing, and retail clients. Her firm consistently works with Fortune 500 leaders, INC 1000 founders, and entrepreneurs.

She is a nationally recognized business growth strategist, entrepreneur, and consultant. She blends her corporate sensibility and rigor with entrepreneurial vigor and innovation to deliver sustainable solutions. Over her 20-year career, Wood has developed highly effective systems for growth, operational improvement, and alignment that enhance people, performance, and profits. She has been a growth strategist with industry leaders and leading brands such as Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, Buffalo Wild Wings, Famous Dave's, and McAlister's Deli. In 2010 she published "The BEST Shift of Your Life--The Restaurant Manager's Guide for Success Outside the Restaurant."

Wood is also a featured speaker and keynote presenter at corporate events, association meetings, and multiple industry functions. Her speaking topics include Branding, Business Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Leadership. Her presentation style is a blend of inspirational and motivational, combined with real-world operations and served with practical tips, techniques, and tools. She is known for her interactive keynote "Plug into Your Business GPS," which focuses on navigating the business landscape effectively. Participants leave her sessions renewed, reinvigorated, and ready to shift to new levels of success.

Before founding her own company, Wood served as the President and COO of Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers from 2005 - 2007. During her tenure, she led the organization through the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the extensive recovery process that followed, and through unprecedented 100% growth in two years. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin--Stout and a Master of Business Administration from Loyola University of Chicago. Wood is currently a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of the People Report, the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Women's Foodservice Forum, and the Strategic Advisory Committee for PeopleMatter. She is also the co-founder of the Foodservice Council for Women and "Suzy's Swirl," a family-owned dessert business.

MOST REQUESTED KEYNOTE TOPICS:

• "Bold Leadership": Transformative Leadership for Today's Business Environment
• "Founders, Visionaries, and Unicorns": Exploring the Dynamics of Visionary Leadership
• "It's Who You Know": Building and Leveraging a Powerful Business Network
• "BYOB—Build Your OUTstanding Brand!": Techniques to Make a Brand Stand Out in Today's Competitive Marketplace
• "One-Page Business Plan": Strategies for Effective Business Planning and Growth