Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner on leadership lessons, vision for chain’s growth

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Wendy’s president and CEO Kirk Tanner as part of a brand new series at NRN called Signature: A CEO Series with Sam Oches, powered by The Coca-Cola Company. We’re hosting 6 Signature episodes throughout 2025, and they’re designed to introduce you to the leaders of some of the nation’s biggest restaurant companies — what has shaped their approach to leadership, how they’ve maintained balance and wellbeing, and how they’re applying their life lessons to build culture at their brands. Kirk was a natural choice to kick off the Signature series, as he just celebrated one year on the job at Wendy’s and he was able to reflect on what he’s accomplished both in his Wendy’s tenure and more broadly in his career.

For exclusive video from Sam’s time with Kirk, click here.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• When you’re young, you have an opportunity to build credibility 
• If you want to go far in your career, don’t look past your current job
• A great mentor can supercharge your career 
• To accomplish big growth, you must start small 
• A diversity of perspectives and opinions will point your business in the right direction
• Young leaders are destined to thrive if they’re students of the game

Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at sam.oches@informa.com.