Inside the QSR Evolution Fireside Chat: Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew T. Cathy on Leadership, Growth and Staying True to Core Values

Inside the QSR Evolution Fireside Chat: Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew T. Cathy on Leadership, Growth and Staying True to Core Values

Few things pair better than a Chick-fil-A sandwich and ice-cold Coca-Cola. Behind that delicious combo lies a longstanding partnership that extends far beyond the typical vendor-client dynamic.

Leaders from the two iconic Atlanta brands sat down for a fireside chat at the QSR Evolution conference in their shared hometown for a spirited conversation about the past, present and future of their collaboration. Dagmar Boggs, President, Foodservice and On-Premise for The Coca-Cola Company North America Operating Unit, interviewed Andrew T. Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A, about how the leading restaurant chain navigates change, fosters innovation and stays true to its founding principles in an increasingly complex marketplace.

Could you briefly take us back to the beginning and share a piece of the Chick-fil-A origin story that, like ours, started in Atlanta?

My grandfather, Truett Cathy, got into the restaurant business in 1946. But he actually got into business as a six- or seven-year-old. He grew up extremely poor and had to make money to help the family. He had a little wagon and sold newspapers and bottles of Coca-Cola, door to door. When he earned enough money, he'd buy a big block of ice so he could ice down the Cokes and sell them for a little bit more. Our relationship with Coca-Cola goes back long before Chick-fil-A started.

From your perspective, how has this iconic relationship evolved from a simple beverage provider to a total business partner?

Working with The Coca Cola Company has made as big an impact on us as a business. You have such a desire to meet your customers' needs and understand consumers, and you have such a wealth of knowledge. It's been an incredible relationship as we've continued to grow, including how you've helped us on the international front by opening doors around the world as we explore certain regions. My dad had such admiration and respect for (former CEOs) Roberto Goizueta and Muhtar Kent, and we continue to learn from leaders such as you (Dagmar) and James Quincey. To have the chance to learn from a much larger organization has been a tremendous asset to us. It goes far beyond selling products.

Chick-fil-A is famous for its hospitality. As you've expanded with more service channels -drive-thrus, mobile ordering, delivery - how have you scaled that personal touch and maintained such a high standard for customer experience?

It's something we value and put a lot of emphasis on, reinforcing in positive ways so it can be replicated and scaled. For us, it comes down to our operating model and our unique partnerships with local owner-operators. This goes back to the original Chick-fil-A restaurant my grandfather created in 1967. Knowing he couldn't continue to run multiple restaurants, he had to create a franchise model.

We put so much emphasis on who we partner with. What we really look for is someone with leadership orientation towards service - because that's so important for us - and a strong track record of developing people. We can teach anyone how to make a Chick-fil-A sandwich, but you have to come to the table with really strong leadership skills., We get about 145,000 applications a year but only a small number are selected to be local Owner-Operators. After we select someone, it's about a yearlong interview process to really know who we're potentially going into business with. Because we're not only turning our physical assets over to somebody; we're trusting them with our reputation. They can either take it and build it in a great way, or it can go the other direction. So, we want to make sure they know what they're getting into, and how hard this business is. If you get it right on the front end, it helps with retention.

Chick-fil-A seems to have cracked the code on creating a positive and enduring work culture. What is the foundational principle that sets your approach to caring for your people apart?

It goes back to our corporate purpose and core values. For us, having a really clear purpose and core values are the timeless aspects an organization should hold onto. We came up with our corporate purpose in 1982 when the business was going through some challenging times. The economy was rough. We'd taken on a lot of debt to build our campus. We doubled the number of restaurants. Our senior team, which included my grandfather, my dad, my uncle and a few other leaders, got away to come up with some big business plans. They came back with two sentences that ended up being such a powerful thing because they answered the question: Why are we in business?

Our corporate purpose states that we're in business to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that's entrusted to us and have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A. It manifests throughout the organization; we want to be good stewards of this business in ways that make a positive impact in the communities we serve. That's truly the heart of why we're in business.

Our four core values are fundamental to who we are. We're purpose driven. We are better together. We pursue what's next. And we're here to serve. The purpose of our Support Center is to serve our operators serving our customers. Our purpose and values attract people that really have that service orientation and want to plug in and do more than just sell chicken.

Chick-fil-A is renowned for its community initiatives, from local operator efforts to national programs for education and fighting food insecurity. With so many needs in the world, how do you decide where to focus your efforts to best align with your mission of serving others?

The first is education, knowing we have so many team members working in our restaurants either in college or wanting to go to college. We've always had an aspect of caring for those that want to go to college going back to the original Dwarf House restaurant. My grandfather had a team member named Eddie White who aspired to go to Morehouse. They put a mayonnaise jar on the counter so people could support Eddie White's college fund. My grandfather added to the donations so he could go to college, and we continued to do grassroots things like that until the 1970s when we came up with a more formal scholarship program for team members. And that has grown dramatically since then. So that's a big piece. The other priority is around hunger. We're in the food business, so it's a natural tie-in. My grandfather lived in government housing growing up. He remembered so many times his mom sent him to the grocery store… at that time you get groceries on your tab and pay at the end of the month… and being told they were way behind and couldn't take anything else. With the Chick-fil-A Shared Table program, local nonprofits take surplus food from the Restaurant and repurpose it into meals for people in need in communities we serve. And every time we open a new Chick-fil-A Restaurant we give $25,000 to the local foodbank serving that community. So far, we've donated nearly $20 million to local Feeding America foodbanks and our Operators have provided more than 42 million meals through Shared Table.