As president of one of the nation's largest family owned businesses, Chick-fil-A's Dan Cathy represents the next generation of leadership for the Atlanta-based quick-service chicken restaurant chain founded by his father, S. Truett Cathy. Eager to incorporate his own skills and talents into the business, Dan has taken an unconventional, yet personally and professionally rewarding approach to Chick-fil-A leadership.

Since May 2002, Dan has served as the president and chief operating officer of the 1,200-plus unit chain, but he also has personally challenged himself with upholding Chick-fil-A’s efforts to provide genuine, heartfelt hospitality, and ensuring that customers chain wide have an exceptional dining experience when visiting a Chick-fil-A restaurant. In his quest to provide customers with “second-mile” service (exceeding even the highest expectations of a typical fast-food restaurant), Dan has defined a special role for himself – humbly saying, “I work in customer service.”

Rather than leading from his corporate office in Atlanta, Dan chooses to spend the majority of his time traveling to the chain’s growing family of restaurants and interacting with Chick fil-A’s committed team of restaurant Operators and team members. His actions stem from a belief that working in the field provides a clearer understanding of the ever-evolving wants and needs of Chick-fil-A customers, and leading from the front line also enables him to personally convey his servant spirit to the chain’s 45,000-plus employees.

The majority of his travels include participating in grand opening ceremonies for new Chick-fil-A restaurants. Dan attended more than 75 restaurant openings last year (missing just one opening), and spent 26 nights camping out in restaurant parking lots along with hundreds of customers vying for a chance to win free Chick-fil-A for a year as part of a special customer-focused promotion the chain conducts in conjunction with new restaurant openings.

As dedicated to Chick-fil-A as he is, Dan also finds time to give generously of his time and efforts in the community. Following is just a partial list of his awards, affiliations and associations:

• Member, Board of Trustees, Berry College
• Member, Board of Advisors, Berry College's Campbell School of Business
• Member, Board of Councilors of The Carter Center
• Member of the New Hope Baptist Church (and trumpet player in the church band)
• Member, Foundation of Gordon College
• Member, Board of Advisors, Eagle Ranch
• Member of the International Society of Business Fellows
• Board Member, Junior Achievement of Georgia (and volunteer at Tri-Cities High School in College Park, Ga. since 1998)
• Board Member, Blood-N-Fire Ministries
• Recipient of the Buckhead Rotary Humanitarian
• Inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame – 2003
• Honorary Doctorate Degree from the State University of West Georgia

And in his "spare" time, Dan has completed the owner/management course at Harvard Business School, earned his pilot's license (and is in fact an instrument-rated commercial pilot), and has run in and completed the Los Angeles and Boston marathons. Additionally, Dan is a passionate trumpet player and an avid motorcyclist.