Founders Awards – Top 5 Visionary Restaurant Founders Award

Before joining Networld Media Group as Vice President of Events, Cherryh Cansler spent several years as VP of Editorial managing the Networld’s nine B2B publications. Throughout her 20-year career as a journalist, she’s written about a variety of topics, ranging from the restaurant industry and technology to health and fitness news. Her byline has appeared in a plethora of newspapers, magazines and websites, including Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine. She also serves as the managing editor for FastCasual.com.

Kathleen Wood is the Founder of Kathleen Wood Partners (KWP), an innovative, award-winning growth strategy firm committed to scaling businesses for success for over two decades. Kathleen and her team specialize in transforming visions into reality through strategic growth solutions, business optimization, competitive sales building, and leadership development. Kathleen's work spans across various industries, focusing on transforming small companies into national brands. She is a nationally recognized strategist who has scaled businesses into market leaders and billion-dollar brands. Kathleen also authored Founderology, a guide for improving workplace dynamics. Kathleen has extensive leadership and operational experience as the former President and COO of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers and executive roles with MasterCard, TGI Friday’s, and the Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association.