Restaurant Leadership Conference

Dates set for RLC 2014

The Restaurant Leadership Conference will reconvene next year at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona on March 30 through April 2.

The theme of the 2014 conference is Differentiation: The Fuel to Growth.

“We’ve just come off our biggest, most successful and highest-rated conference since we started the RLC in the 1990s, but I have no doubt we’re going to top it next year, given what we’re planning,” said RLC president David Jobe.

A tempered, but positive industry forecast

The industry—in line with the economy—is experiencing a very uninspiring recovery. But a recovery nonetheless.

Some of the top industry trend experts spoke about the health of the industry at the Restaurant Leadership Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. While none showed elation, their news was decidedly on the bright side. Their forecasts struck similar notes:

Indra Nooyi has deep connections to the restaurant industry. She came aboard PepsiCo in 1994 to steer the foodservice division, visiting front- and back-of-the house operations across America to build the company’s struggling restaurant business. So when this dynamic Chairman and CEO took the stage Tuesday to keynote at the Restaurant Leadership Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, she had lots of cred with the1,000+ operators in the audience. Her message— “we’re all in the same business today—the business of adaptability.

Who’s to blame for the obesity crisis?

Many, many weight loss diets come and go, but the sad fact is Americans have gotten fatter every year since 1990. While restaurants have been the easy-to-blame scapegoats for this obesity epidemic, they’re not the only ones at fault, said Dr. Jim Painter at the innovation session entitled “Your Brain on Food: Why Consumers Eat As They Do” held on Monday, March 26 during the 2012 Restaurant Leadership Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Cain on Cain: 'Not dead yet'

Herman Cain still has a chance of becoming the Republican Party’s candidate in the 2012 presidential race, the campaign dropout argued in a speech opening the Restaurant Leadership Conference.

Cain sketched out a scenario where a frontrunner like Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich couldn’t muster enough delegates during the first two rounds of voting at the Party’s annual convention to clinch the nomination. If that were to happen, explained Cain, other party leaders would likely step forward to seek the nomination.

Flashes of political frustration at RLC

Frustration with the federal government bubbled over during a session of the Restaurant Leadership Conference, with attendees angrily complaining to the chairman of the National Restaurant Association about the political process and the group’s role in it.

Howie Mandel will be playing for laughs during a stand-up appearance Tuesday at the Restaurant Leadership Conference, but he’ll also be leading the 1,000-operator crowd in an unprecedented give-back: Raising a game-changing contribution to fight cancer.

It's not about the ceramics

Struggling to reach staffers who seem lost in their own world? Well, have you thought about pottery? That’s the improbable route Bill Strickland took when he set out to turn the disadvantaged of his native Pittsburgh into choice job candidates all but vibrating with enthusiasm. Now a world-renowned motivational authority, Strickland has agreed to recount how he molds workforce stars from prospects that don’t appear to fit the system. His delivery at the Restaurant Leadership Conference promises to be as unusual as the training approach he’s taken.

Pepsico's Nooyi to talk navigation at RLC 2012

Adapting to shifts in the marketplace is tough enough for the operator of a single restaurant. Imagine the challenge it poses for Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of Pepsico Inc., a diversified consumer-goods company with operations in almost every nook and cranny of the planet.

Ron Shaich to focus on 'conscious capitalism'

Attention, Wall Street Occupiers: The sort of corporate conscience you’re demanding isn’t alien to the restaurant business, as the trade’s leaders will be reminded at the 2012 Restaurant Leadership Conference. Ron Shaich, co-founder and chairman of Panera Bread Co., will conclude the conference with a presentation on the philosophy he’s instilling in the phenomenally successful chain, a mindset known as conscious capitalism.

The writing on Facebook's wall

Forecasters have divined a larger sales role for social media in 2012 and beyond, but that’s where the crystal ball goes wonky. Fortunately for restaurateurs, Facebook has agreed to foretell some of the why’s and how’s for their channel.

If you view other restaurants as your competition, meet Howard Stoeckel. He’s eating your lunch, and you may not even realize it.

Hands-on dealmakers will discuss current restaurant-company valuations and the next wave of private-equity acquisitions during a keynote presentation at the 2012 Restaurant Leadership Conference.

The panel will feature principals of the private-equity firms behind some of the industry’s major recent equity deals. Slated to appear are Rahul Aggarwal of Brentwood Associates (Zoe’s Kitchen, Yum! franchisees Pacific Island Restaurants and K-Mac Holdings),

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