SPEAKERS

As President of one of the nation's largest family owned businesses, Chick-fil-A's Dan T. Cathy represents the next generation of leadership for the Atlanta-based quick-service chicken restaurant chain.

Since 2001, Dan has served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of the 1,480-plus unit chain (as of February 2010), which includes 57,000-plus employees. Dan's nearly lifelong career at Chick-fil-A began at age 9 as he sang songs for customers and did radio commercials for the chain's original "Dwarf House" restaurant in Hapeville, Ga. He has served as Senior Director of Operations, Vice President of Operations and Executive Vice President prior to being named President and Chief Operating Officer.

In early 2008, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates named Chick-fil-A among the top 25 "Customer Service Champs." In 2009, Chick-fil-A received Restaurant & Institutions magazine's "Choice in Chains" award for the 16th time in 16 years. In 2004, Chick-fil-A was honored with Fast Company magazine's inaugural "Customer First" award; and was the highest rated quick-service chain in the South in J.D. Power and Associate's Customer Satisfaction survey.