You are invited to this virtual Women in Business Luncheon for an opportunity to connect with local business leaders, exchange innovative ideas and enjoy a delicious lunch. In addition, a featured speaker will address the group to share a leadership journey, offer life management skills, inspire community involvement and/or provide insight into emerging trends.Join this diverse group of savvy female business leaders from all industries and fields who want to realize their strengths and excel in their careers.
At this session, the group will meet and hear from Mary Schell, the Chief Public Affairs Officer for The Wendy's Company.
Mary Schell serves The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ: WEN) as Chief Public Affairs Officer having held various positions within Wendy's for more than 20 years. She worked closely with the Company's founder Dave Thomas and has provided direct government relations, public affairs and communications leadership and counsel to the current and past eight CEOs. Over the course of her career with public companies, not-for-profits and government agencies, Mary has guided policy making, strategy, and communications to protect and enhance brand reputation, establish internal and public-facing positions, advance organizational and stakeholder engagement goals, support crisis communications and guide teams through changes in control, leadership and evolving board priorities.
Mary is a leader within the foodservice, restaurant and franchising industries through current and previous engagements as a member of the board with the International Franchise Association, National Restaurant Association, National Council of Chain Restaurants (former Chair), retail organizations and chambers of commerce. Mary is a thought leader as it relates to policy, advocacy, engagement, brand and reputation management and effective political issue management.
At Wendy's, Mary is responsible for public affairs, community/external/government relations, sustainability and corporate social responsibility/ESG, supporting media relations and crisis communications, leading food and nutrition policy and stakeholder and NGO engagement. She has guided Wendy's through complex political and lobbying campaigns on tax, human resource, labor, healthcare, agriculture, food and nutrition, development, franchising, sustainability, payments, banking, NLRB, FASB, immigration, food regulation/marketing/advertising and packaging issues. She established and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Company's political action committee, on the board of the Wendy's Foundation and was a founding and 15-year member of Wendy's Animal Welfare Council. She works closely with QSCC, a cooperative that serves as Wendy's North America supply chain purchasing and distribution arm and was inducted into the QSCC Hall of Fame in 2018. She is the only two-time winner of the Dave Thomas Outstanding Management Award having received the highest honor awarded to a Company employee for the second time at Wendy's 50th Anniversary Convention in September 2019. Mary is a standing presenter at Wendy's Franchisee CFO Forum and in 2019 was a KPMG Restaurant Financial Executive Share Forum Instructor at the Summer meeting of the Forum. Mary is currently serving as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a national public charity focused on foster care adoption with adoption recruiters operating in all 50 states and Canada. She led a reorganization of the corporate bylaws and Board structure and guides the strategic planning process.
Prior to Wendy's, Mary held several roles with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce starting as Director of Energy and Environment and promoted to Vice President, Public Affairs. Viewed as Ohio's most prestigious business trade association, she led the Chamber's work on implementation of Title V of the federal Clean Air Act by negotiating legislative policy among diverse member interests including manufacturers, energy and utility companies. She led the coalition to defeat a California-style Prop 65 statewide ballot initiative by engaging at the local level in 65 of Ohio's 88 counties. She directed the Chamber's Public Affairs Committee when it published its first legislative voting record and launched the Chamber's program of rating and recommending candidates for the state supreme court.
Mary's experience also includes several years as a legislative aide to a ranking member of the House of Representatives in Ohio where she was involved with producing the state operating budget, transportation budget and several high-profile energy and environment bills.
Mary is an advocate for facilitating company, employee and franchisee participation in public policy. At Wendy's and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, she developed and implemented grassroots programs and networks that moved policy priorities to completion while supporting an organizational culture of engagement. She is leading Wendy's "Squarely Sustainable" approach to corporate social responsibility including a sustainable packaging initiative and an employee-led group to advise the company on improving its environmental impact. She has a keen understanding of brand reputation and brand sensitivities having been involved in the teams that managed many of the Company's major crises.
Mary graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a degree in Public Administration with a Policy Analysis focus. She attended Miami's branch campus in Luxembourg during her Junior year and in 2019 was appointed by the Governor of Ohio to the University's Board of Trustees for a nine-year term. A native of Sandusky, Ohio, she currently lives in Columbus with her husband and their two sons. She is passionate about travel, practicing German, experiencing diversity in food and culture, history and working on her family tree.
The cost to attend this event is only $25 per person for Chamber members and $49 per person for non-members, which includes lunch. Please include diet concerns when reserving your spot.
Wednesday Nov 18, 2020
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST
Nov. 18 at Noon
Lunch can be picked up starting at 10:30 a.m.
Zoom event, with the option to pick up a free lunch prior to the Zoom luncheon call
The cost to attend this event is only $25 per person for Chamber members and $49 per person for non-members, which includes lunch.