Sam Fox Named to ‘Nation’s Restaurant News’ Power List – 50 Most Influential People in Restaurants

Sam Fox

Penton‘s Nation’s Restaurant News, the leading resource of business intelligence for executive decision-makers in the foodservice industry, has announced The Power List, exploring the 50 most influential individuals driving development in the restaurant industry.

“The restaurant industry, and business in general, is changing at a pace never before seen,” says Sarah Lockyer, editor-in-chief of Nation’s Restaurant News. “With this Power List, NRN set out to create a definitive list of the 50 most powerful people who are leading and shaping this change. This power matrix — developed with the strength of our editorial authority — accounts for every corner of the restaurant industry, from limited service to fine dining and from investment banking to menu development.”

Ranking Nos. 1-10, and grouping the remaining 40 players, the Top 10 prove to be not only key players in the foodservice industry, but also some of the top influencers of global business dynamics.

The Power List Top 10, as determined by Nation’s Restaurant News, are:

1. Howard Shultz, chairman, president and chief executive of Starbucks Corp.

2. Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-chief executive of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.

3. Julia Stewart, chairman and chief executive of DineEquity Inc.

4. Neal Aronson, founder and managing partner of Roark Capital Group

5. Dan Cathy, chairman, president, and chief executive of Chick-fil-A Inc.

6. Sally Smith, president and chief executive of Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.

7. Don Thompson, president and chief executive of McDonald’s Corp.

8. Brooke Johnson, president, Food Category of Scripps Networks Interactive Inc./ Food Network and Cooking Channel

9. Greg Creed, chief executive of Taco Bell

10.  Sam Su, chairman and chief executive of Yum! Restaurants China

Nation’s Restaurant News has divided the other 40 “Power List” individuals into groups characterizing the type of influence they bring to the industry. Sam Fox, founder and CEO of Fox Restaurant Concepts, is one of what the publication calls the “Entrepreneurs.” Recognized for this honor especially for the True Food Kitchen, Fox Restaurant Concepts also comprises 13 other unique concepts, with 38 locations spanning six states.

See complete profiles of all 50 people on The Power List. Follow the discussion on Twitter (http://twitter.com/NRNOnline and via #NRNPowerList).

For more than 45 years, Nation’s Restaurant News has served the news and information needs of foodservice professionals. Today, offering integrated media solutions for changing times, NRN is the media brand nearly 500,000 professionals turn to every month to help them tackle the challenges facing the foodservice industry. NRN is a multiple American Business Media Neal Award winner for quality journalism.