Kat Cole is the President of Cinnabon, Inc., which licenses Cinnabon branded products and operates more than 1000 franchised locations in 52 countries worldwide, primarily in high traffic venues such as shopping malls, airports, train stations, travel plazas, entertainment centers, academic institutions and military establishments. Cinnabon is the licensor of Cinnabon Branded products in over 40,000 retail points of distribution and is the market leader among cinnamon roll and sweet treat bakeries serving fresh, aromatic, oven-hot cinnamon rolls and a variety of other baked goods and specialty beverages. Ms. Cole is a member of the leadership team within FOCUS Brands Inc., which is the franchisor and operator of more than 3,300 ice cream shops, bakeries, restaurants and cafes in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 52 foreign countries under the brand names Carvel^®, Cinnabon^®, Schlotzsky’s^®,Moe’s Southwest Grill^®, Auntie Anne’s^®, and the franchisor of Seattle’s Best Coffee^® on certain military bases and in certain international markets.

Prior to her role with FOCUS Brands at Cinnabon, Inc., Ms. Cole was Vice President of Training and Development for Hooters of America, Inc., the international company which operates and franchises restaurants and manages the Hooters Brand Entities and generated approximately $800 Million in annual revenue during her tenure.

The daughter of a single mother and oldest of three sisters, her story is often shared for inspiration as she moved up from working as a hostess at 17 years old in the restaurants, started opening international franchised restaurants at the age of 19, dropped out as an engineering major in college, advanced to various corporate leadership positions, and at the age of 26 became one of the youngest executives in the hospitality industry as a Vice President reporting directly to the CEO, directing projects, departments and change management initiatives contributing to growth of brand extensions and restaurant units to over 470 in 28 countries

Ms. Cole has more than 15 years of multi-disciplined leadership experience in Change Management, Franchising, Communications, Service, Sales, Operations, Multi-channel brand management, and Executive Leadership. Ms. Cole has led research, strategy, and integration for non-traditional brand extensions, multi-channel brand building and global business initiatives.  She is widely known in and outside of her industry for legacy business model innovation, change management, energizing brands, mentorship and development of emerging leaders.

As a part of Greater Impact Communications, she conducted Professional Presence, Accountability and Communications training and consulting for companies like The Home Depot, Sanofi-Aventis, and Turner Broadcasting (CNN, Cartoon Network TBS). Ms. Cole is a requested speaker and consultant on Leadership Development, Women in Business, Change Management, Franchising, and Brand Innovation and Growth. She has been the subject of feature stories on CNN’s HLN ‘Making it in America’, the star of CBS’ Undercover Boss, and the subject of feature articles in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Businessweek, Yahoo.com, MSN.com, many business and trade publications, and is a frequent guest for other notable publications and media outlets.

Ms. Cole serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Women’s Foodservice Forum and has participated in organizations and initiatives in the US and in Africa to help women learn to elevate themselves. She won the Women’s Foodservice Forum’s Volunteer of the Year Award, and was a finalist for The 2007 International Woman of Influence Award by GlobalExecWomen Magazine. In 2011, Ms. Cole was presented the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 under 40 Award and the Distinguished Young Alumni Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson School of Business. She is an avid volunteer with organizations that support women and children in need and co-Founder of Changers of Commerce, an organization that helps businesses implement “Connected Capitalism”. She received her MBA from Georgia State University. Her first book, Small Changes, Big Impact will be available late April 2013, and her second book, Lessons from the Village, will be available May of 2013.