Kat Cole Early Career at Hooters
Kat Cole began working at Hooters as a hostess at age 19 while attending Florida State University. She advanced through multiple roles, including server, trainer, and manager, before becoming one of the youngest franchisees in the company’s history. Her operational experience at Hooters covered staffing, training, and multi-unit performance management Forbes career profile.
By her mid-twenties, Cole was overseeing training and operations for Hooters locations internationally, including Australia and the Middle East. This period built her expertise in scaling service systems and franchise support, which later shaped her leadership approach at larger consumer and food brands.
Executive Roles After Hooters
After leaving Hooters, Kat Cole joined Cinnabon as an executive and helped grow the brand internationally. She later became President of Cinnabon, overseeing operations across more than 100 countries and expanding the company’s retail footprint in airports and malls Forbes leadership timeline.
Cole subsequently served as Group President of Focus Brands, which owns Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, Jamba, and McAlister’s. In that role, she led brand strategy, franchise development, and digital transformation across the portfolio, applying the operational discipline she first developed at Hooters.
Current Executive Positions and Board Memberships
As of the latest available public filings, Kat Cole serves as Chief Operating Officer at Focus Brands and holds board seats at multiple public and private companies. Her board roles include positions at companies in the food, retail, and technology sectors, where she advises on growth strategy and operational scaling SEC Focus Brands filings.
Cole also maintains an active advisory and speaking presence in the business community, focusing on franchise operations, women in leadership, and startup scaling. Her career path from Hooters hostess to multi-brand executive is frequently cited in business case studies on rapid operational growth and talent development Forbes business case study.