Movers and Shakers: Food Industry

by Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

How many of us have felt a bit guilty ordering some fatty fries or $5 coffee at some ubiquitous food chain like McDonald’s or Starbucks? While calories or financial considerations might give us pause, we can at least take comfort in the fact that we are giving business to several companies in an industry in which a number of women have been able to break the glass ceiling.

Some of the top women in the food industry are:

(1) Linda A. Lang, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Jack in the Box, Incorporated

Lang has been with Jack in the Box since 1984. In 1993, she stepped outside her usual finance role, serving on the crisis team during the E.Coli outbreak, when four children died and many more fell ill from eating hamburgers at the Jack in the Box restaurants, which role got her noticed by the senior management of the company. In her years with the company, she has held a variety of management positions in marketing and operations, in addition to finance. Immediately prior to becoming CEO, she served as the company’s COO, in which capacity she was responsible for the operations of all company-owned and franchised Jack in the Box restaurants, including marketing, training, restaurant development, research & development, quality assurance and supply chain management.

Lang has a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of California, Berkeley and an M.B.A from San Diego State University. She currently serves as a director of WD-40 Company.

(2) Gloria Santona, Chief Legal Officer, McDonald’s Corporation

Santona joined McDonald’s right out of law school, and has held University numerous management positions in the legal department. She became the company’s corporate secretary in 1997 and has served as general counsel since 2001. In her current role, she is in charge of McDonald’s worldwide legal, compliance, regulatory and corporate governance functions. Under her guidance, the McDonald’s legal department has achieved awards in recognition of the legal and educational services it has provided to lower income communities.

Santona serves as a director of Aon Corporation and on the boards of several associations and foundations, including those of the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago. She has been named as one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business Magazine and won the Women with Vision Award from the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.

(3) Paula E. Boggs, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, Starbucks Corporation

Boggs started her work life as an Army paratrooper. After earning her law degree, she took successive governmental roles in the Pentagon, White House and US Department of Justice, earning accolades in each position. She then went into private practice in 1995, serving as a partner with Preston Gates & Ellis and then as vice president, legal for products, operations and information technology at Dell Computer Corporation. Boggs has been with Starbucks in her current position since 2002, in which she is charged with leading the 50-person legal department, and the global team based in Asia and Europe.

Boggs earned undergraduate degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. from University of California Berkeley Boalt School of Law. She is the recipient of an Excellence in Diversity Award from the Washington State Bar Association.

(4) Karen King, President of McDonald’s East Division

King has worked for McDonalds for over 30 years, starting as a regular worker at a local McDonald’s branch in Georgia. She worked her way up in the company, holding positions of increasing responsibility, including director of operations and then Multi-Department Head for the Florida region. In 1996, King received the prestigious McDonald’s President’s Award – recognition presented annually to less than one percent of McDonald’s employees worldwide

In her current position, which she has held since March 2005, she is responsible for restaurant operations, financial performance, market and brand development, and developing relationships with owner/operators, suppliers and community leaders regarding 5,000 restaurants.

(5) Carol A. DiRaimo, Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, Jack In the Box Restaurants

DiRaimo has over 19 years of experience in the restaurant industry, having previously worked for Gilbert/Robinson and Applebee’s International, Inc. She is a certified public accountant by training, with six years of public accounting experience with Deloitte.

DiRaimo has received many awards over her career, including being named winner for “Best Overall Investor Relations” for a small cap company by Investor Relations Magazine, in association with Barron’s, for four consecutive years – 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and an Executive M.B.A. from Rockhurst University in Kansas City. She currently serves as chairperson of the audit committee of the Board of Directors of the National Investor Relations Institute.