Recipe for Leadership

New Executive Education Program Gives Restaurant Franchise Professionals a Taste of Leadership in Action

“It’s what I consider to be a true executive experience,“ shared Senior Executive Director for Corporate and Executive Education Kim Mallory, referencing the week-long residency of the inaugural cohort of the department’s Accelerating Enterprise Growth program held in July 2025–one of two programs available for aspiring or current professionals in the franchise industry. The College of Business welcomed the participants, restaurant franchise professionals from around the country, to the exclusive in-person event held on the University of Louisville’s Belknap campus as part of the culmination of the year-long program.

Sampling Success

The programmatic collaboration, sponsored by the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence, consisted of six one-month online courses with synchronous and asynchronous components, followed by a three-month applied learning project in which participants individually develop a business plan with one-on-one coaching prior to completing the in-person component of the program. Director of the Yum! CGFE, Kathy Gosser, explained the depth of the partnership between the mutual departments. “It was truly collaborative,” she said. “Executive Education managed the logistics such as venues, meals and seamless execution, while the Yum! Center focused on content and engagement. We [also] secured dynamic speakers, coordinated site visits and prepared participants for their presentations.”

Throughout the week the group had the opportunity to not just connect and network in-person with fellow participants, but also meet programmatic instructors face-to-face, hear from franchise executives, visit innovative greater Louisville-area restaurant models such as MESA, tour the area headquarters of powerhouse restaurant franchises Yum! and Texas Roadhouse and present their business plan projects to fellow cohort members and programmatic instructors.

Cooking Under Pressure

Woven into the week and arguably the most immersive portion of the residency was a case study developed and taught by Gosser and Department Chair for Management and Entrepreneurship Zac Goldman, which allowed attendees to witness first-hand how roadblocks to progress can occur in real time, and workshop ways in which leaders can overcome those daily issues to productivity and progress. “We wanted to immerse participants in a realistic franchise operations environment,” said Gosser, “so we created a custom case study. Each day, a new chapter unfolded, introducing fresh challenges.” Goldman shared more about the nuances of the study and his inclusion of realistic events that often require leaders to take initiative or pivot to damage control in times of crisis. “My contributions added multimodal components, [with disruptions like] interactive text messages from characters featured in our case, [such as a surprise text from an unhappy area coach],” he explained, “or creating breaking news updates [generated] with artificial intelligence [about new legislation] that updated the circumstances governing the scenario.”

The Next Course

Bridging months of education with residency served as one of the most critical components of the program, providing a truly one-of-a-kind training experience for restaurant franchise professionals. Gosser noted that, “Most senior leadership programs are broad and industry-agnostic. This residency zeroed in on the specific realities of leading at scale in the restaurant franchise sector.” Looking ahead to future cohorts, both Mallory and Gosser hope to continue to develop and improve the program as they receive feedback from attendees. “We’re eager to incorporate participant feedback,” Gosser explained, ”but already we see opportunities to refine.”

Hungry for leadership growth? The Accelerating Enterprise Growth program serves up executive-level training designed specifically for restaurant franchise professionals. Learn from world-renowned experts, sharpen your strategy and take your place at the leadership table. Our October 2025 cohort is now enrolling — with a limited number of scholarships available. Learn more at https://www.enrole.com/louisville/jsp/session.jsp?sessionId=ACEP1025&courseId=ACEG&categoryId=CDD058E8 

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