Dawn Sweeney
National Restaurant Assn.
President, CEO
Years with company: Five years
Education/degree & professional/volunteer organizations:
- B.A., Colby College (Government)
- M.B.A., George Washington University (Marketing)
Board Member: Save the Children, U.S. Travel Association, Women’s Foodservice Forum,
Charter Member: ChildObesity 180
Active Member: U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Committee of 100, International Women’s Forum, C200
Mentors and how have they assisted you in your career:
I grew up in Maine on a farm that my family had worked for over 150 years. We had a small roadside produce stand and I worked in the fields and at the stand in the summers beginning at age four, where, over the years, I learned a lot about customer service, managing money and offering high quality goods. All of that happened because of my parents and my grandfather. Their tireless work ethic and fair-mindedness have been touchstones throughout my life – both professionally and personally. They always insisted on setting goals that made me stretch. That has stayed with me throughout my career. To this day, I am not happy if at least some of the goals I have seem impossible!
What are you most proud of in your career achievements? Do you have a defining moment in your career?
There have been many “defining moments” of my career – and, I hope, some still to come! For the most part, my best memories and most grateful moments are times when I have been part of a team that has achieved great success. The exhilaration that comes from working together, on an initiative or campaign, in which you deeply believe, to a successful outcome, is the most inspiring part of any job I have ever had.
Advice for young executives:
Please don’t ever get complacent. There is so much to learn at every phase in our careers and from everyone…just this week I have learned all kinds of things: from the Chair of our Board, from my husband, from my teenaged son, and from my colleagues and even business adversaries. Try to stay open — listen to what may seem as off-the-wall ideas. Share your own. And don’t shy away from mistakes – some of our greatest achievements come, not coincidently, on the heels of some of our greatest mistakes.
Hobbies:
Volunteering on behalf of children’s causes, reading, hiking and travel.
2013
- Jane Grote Abell
- Tracy Anthony
- Barbara Berger
- Jennifer Allen
- Amy Baldovin
- Joy-Suzanne Almekies
- Claire Bishop
- Cindy Bay
- Mary Brown
- Robin Blevins
- Julie Capuzziello
- Jane Bullinger
- Maura DiMarco
- Ingrid Crane
- Lorie Donnelly
- Linda Doherty
- Jennifer Durham
- Jodi Elliott
- Dian Emerson
- Ruth ‘Momma’ Dietz Eni
- Tracey Erickson
- Mary Fleming
- Dagmar Farr
- Dolores Flink
- Jessica Gasser
- Jennifer Hatcher
- Patricia (Pat) Houle
- Andrea McKenna
- Catherine Johnson
- Lisa Ingram
- Deborah Kaufman
- Tricia Johnson
- Rhonda Levene
- Barbara Lyons
- Catherine Lindner
- Suzanne Loughlin
- Cheryl Macik
- O’dette Báez-Maldonado
- RoseMary Martin
- Tracy Moore
- Erin Mercolino
- Allison Bolch Moran
- Teri Miller
- Virginia Morris
- Melonie Nastanski
- Keren Nimmo
- Janet O’Connor
- Christiane Paul
- Michele Pelletier
- Colleen Peloquin
- Shelley Pedersen
- Marla Sferra-Pieton
- M. Marnette Perry
- Jodi Pike
- Catherine Polley
- Carol Reindel
- Kimberly Powers
- Maureen Ray
- Maria Elena Ruisi
- Robin Robison
- Gayle Shields
- Renae Scott
- Marisa Stoehr
- Karen Sylvia Simmons
- Dawn Sweeney
- Lauren Trainor
- Lisa Walsh
- Jennifer Young-Watts
- Robin Vogel