William "Bill" M. Mitchell has climbed the ladder of success, serving in top leadership roles at major brands in the foodservice industry, through traits honed during his military experience.
Mitchell, a University of North Georgia (UNG) alumnus and CEO of Cici Enterprises, was a keynote speaker for one of UNG's spring 2018 commencement ceremonies and spoke at the Cottrell Speaker Series hosted by the Mike Cottrell College of Business at UNG.
Mitchell has served as the president of Dunkin’ Brands International at Dunkin' Brands Group Inc., and Dunkin' Donuts LLC, where he managed some 8,500 stores in 60 countries.
Before this experience, Mitchell worked at Papa John's International in multiple positions ranging from senior vice president of domestic operations to president of global operations.
Mitchell graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from UNG in 1986 and served in the U.S. Army. His said his experience at UNG aided in his decision to serve his country.
"I think it was learning servant leadership, being in the Corps of Cadets, learning how to lead, follow or get out of the way," he said. "The school was small but offered tremendous opportunities from a leadership perspective that truly prepared me for being a solid Army officer."
His experience as an Army officer and being a key member of the Corps of Cadets developed qualities of structure and discipline that aided him in the business arena.
"Those principles that I’ve taken in military leadership I’ve applied in business," he said.
In his current role as the CEO of Cici Enterprises, a company founded in 1985 that now has 430 restaurants, Mitchell hopes to utilize the tools gained from other organizations to grow the brand.
"I believe we can transform the entire brand into a new image in three years or less, and we can grow it very quickly," he said.
Mitchell has already hit the ground running. He passed an operational test given to him by one of the Cici Enterprises' restaurants.
"I thoroughly believe you need to learn the business from the ground up," he said. "I’ve held multiple departmental responsibilities, but nothing has been more important to me than running one restaurant."
During his speech, one of the main points that Mitchell wanted to resonate with the students is the importance of practiced leadership tactics. He wanted the students of UNG to understand how his military experience correlated with success in the corporate world. He emphasized three main points: owning the heart, owning the mind and the wallet.
Mitchell stressed the significance of owning the heart of a businesses' constituents and how a successful business is a chain reaction beginning with the consumer. He also emphasized owning the mind of stakeholders and constituents which he describes as being, "technically and tactically proficient. The first thing I’ve done in every company I’ve worked at is asked to run a restaurant."
Lastly, he stressed the importance of remembering the wallet. He described his responsibilities when it comes to finances, "in-store sales, new units and earnings," he said. "Those three things have to act in concert to get premium value for your investors."
