• Selecting talent versus hiring people
•  Creating a company language that matches the existing behavior
•  The key to retaining good talent

Dee Ann Turner started her Chick-fil-A career as a secretary to the Vice President of Human Resources and eventually moved up to the VP of Talent and HR becoming the very first female officer of the company. During her 33 years at Chick-fil-A, Dee Ann focused on growing the renowned culture of the company by recruiting for the corporate staff as well as selecting franchisees.

Dee Ann now owns her own organization which focuses on providing keynote speaking, consulting, and coaching around transforming and growing companies’ culture and talent. She has visited many corporations to speak about topics like The Recipe for a Remarkable Culture, How to Win with Who, The Secret Sauce of Legendary Customer Service, and more.

Dee Ann is also a 2x best selling author of Bet on Talent and It’s my Pleasure. Her books focus on creating remarkable talent and culture within an organization as well as its impact on customer loyalty as well as the entire company. Purchase Dee Ann’s latest book, Bet on Talent.

• 0:55 - The story of how Dee Ann Turner started a career at Chick-fil-A.
• 3:50 - What about working in HR at Chick-fil-A excited Dee Ann?
• 7:13 - Biggest lessons learned from working as a secretary to the previous VP.
• 8:57 - The three C’s to look for when building your team.
• 12:50 - The difference between hiring people and selecting talent.
• 15:27 - Dee Ann’s go-to questions during interviews.
• 17:22 - How to recognize a candidate’s chemistry during an interview process.
• 19:18 - The implementation of Chick-fil-A’s signature response: “My pleasure”
• 23:35 - What is the key to retain and grow talented people?
• 26:17 - Dee Ann’s experience being the first female officer at Chick-fil-A.
• 28:05 - Rapid fire questions

• What is a ghost kitchen?
• Find out how brands are becoming successful with third-party delivery
• Answers to the most frequently asked questions from retailers regarding ghost kitchens

Brett Wilson has been in sales for 10 years and specializes in technology, food service, and data analytics. Brett is currently at DoorDash where he helps brands of all sizes enter into third party delivery and the ghost kitchen space.

• 0:20 - What is a ghost kitchen?
• 1:54 - More on Brett and his experience in the third-party delivery industry
• 2:50 - What is the difference between a ghost kitchen and a dark kitchen?
• 3:45 - Brett answers frequently asked questions from retailers regarding ghost kitchens
• 5:46 - What are brands that are succeeding with third-party delivery doing that others are not?
• 9:25 - The Hundreds Family Style Food Festival 2019 presented by DoorDash
• 9:50 - How are brands using social media and influencers to stand out?
• 12:00 - Katz’s Delicatessen
• 12:48 - Brett discusses how brands can use third-party delivery as a profit generator 
• 16:50 - How can brands determine if they would benefit from third-party delivery?

• Lessons learned in opening almost a 1000 restaurants
• The importance of discovering your “zone of genius” and how it can lead to internal joy
• Building a team that is service oriented rather than task oriented

Jim Mizes started his career in the retail industry as a young man working at his father’s pharmacy. He then went to school and received a degree in accounting and began working typical finance jobs. After realizing that accounting wasn’t what brought him joy, Jim joined Taco Bell as a general manager and quickly worked his way up to their VP of operations. In 1989, Jim repositioned the brand’s 59, 79, 99 campaign and saw a 60% growth in same store sales. After building up several restaurant brands, Jim finally joined Blaze Pizza where he grew the brand from 2 stores to over 340 in only 6 and a half years.

Jim is now retired and recently joined SiteZeus’ board of directors to continue to help retail and restaurant brands grow into new markets.

• 1:22 – Jim’s career story: How he went from working at his father’s pharmacy, to getting an accounting degree, to becoming a fast-casual restaurant pioneer.
• 5:41 – What is the key to reaching ambitious location growth goals?
• 6:25 – The analogy of how progressively raising a child compares to growing a restaurant business from 4 locations to 400 locations.
• 7:04 – How Jim landed a promotion at Taco Bell after optimizing one of the industry’s first value menu strategies that lead to a 60% growth in sales.
• 8:23 – When Jim realized he belonged in the operational side of business.
• 10:07 – Jim’s advice to anyone searching for their talent by uncovering their “zone of genius.”
• 11:41 – The secret to building a team that supports restaurant success and growth.
• 13:29 – Jim relates the level of employee-customer engagement to dogs and cats. How can your store become a “dog store”?
• 15:04 – The ratio of art and science when scouting new locations then vs. now.
• 17:10 – What is the key to a third-party delivery company “winning” in the industry?
• 18:43 – Which parts of scaling a business concerned Jim the most?
• 20:42 – What separates the good from the great franchisees and operators?
• 21:28 – Jim mentions the key factor that will helps brands of all sizes grow smoothly.
• 22:38 – You should be able to update your resume every 6 months – if you cannot add new skills at least once a year, there may be a problem.
• 23:40 – Quick fire questions

• Types of innovation commercial real estate is experiencing
• What emerging trends Mariel is excited to see
• What to expect at a DisruptCRE conference

Mariel Ebrahimi co-founded DisruptCRE in 2014 with the goal of connecting industry professionals with emerging technologies and trends. Recently, Mariel has spoken for groups within CoreNet New England, Commercial Real Estate Finance Council, NGKF, and at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. In 2015, she was selected as a finalist for the SmartCEO "Skyline Awards" for innovation in commercial real estate and in 2018, a Bisnow NYC Woman of Influence award. With a background in international logistics, tech and supply chain management, Mariel has found a passion at the nexus of commercial real estate and technology.

• 1:19 – How DisruptCRE came to existence.
• 4:23 – The types of innovation that Mariel realized commercial real estate was missing.
• 6:48 – The level of disruption Mariel sees in real estate.
• 9:10 – How to build a structure that is capable of evolving with technology.
• 12:20 – How a fresh perspective can provide profound insights to the industry.
• 15:10 – Mariel explains the new learning experience at Camp toy store.
• 16:58 – The difference between and good and great panel according to Mariel.
• 18:47 – How differing opinions can provide value to discussions.
• 20:00 – Ways to make the most as a first time attendee to a conference.
• 22:36 – Mariel describes an emerging trend she is exciting to see develop.
• 25:20 – Rapid Fire Questions

• How untraditional education and experience can be the most valuable
• When and how brick and mortar retail met their pitfall
• How to have the most beneficial relationship between a franchisor and franchisees

Garrick Brown started his career by working in various retail stores while going to school for a creative writing degree. He then pursued freelance writing where he created a connection with a broker and began writing real estate reports.

Today, Garrick is one of the leading Retail Real Estate Analysts in the US and serves as the Vice President of Retail Intelligence for the Americas at Cushman and Wakefield. In this position, Garrick manages the retail research team and runs analyses and forecast for the US, Canada, and Latin America.

Garrick is also a talented public speaker. He frequently speaks on behalf of Cushman and Wakefield and serves as a keynote speaker during various conferences. He is also regularly quoted regarding retail by dozens of business journals, including Wall Street Journal and CNBC.

• 1:37 – Garrick’s career path from working in retail stores all the way to real estate research.
• 7:10 – Lessons learned from mentors – is education or experience more important?
• 8:36 – What should employers look for beyond higher education?
• 10:09 – Key points that contributed to the pitfall of retail
• 17:28 – Relation between retail and restaurants regarding over expansion
• 22:11 – Pros and cons to bringing a brand public
• 26:03 – Garrick shares his views on franchises and how to have an optimal franchisee/franchisor relationship
• 29:07 – Rapid fire questions