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Denny Marie Post, president and CEO, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc.
Denny Marie Post wears her heart on her sleeve. Well, it’s a burger tattoo, to be exact.
But that ink on her upper arm — which she got when the Red Robin team beat guest satisfaction goals — represents the emotional investment she brings to her work as CEO of the casual-dining chain.
That commitment to people — with a dash of fun — has defined her leadership style since she first joined the brand in 2011. She was promoted to president in early 2016 and took on the additional role of CEO later that year.
In that time she’s navigated the choppy waters of the casual-dining segment and worked to keep the $1.6 billion brand in tune with changing consumer expectations. Most recently that has meant elevating the dine-in experience, while also expanding off-premise platforms and even testing a delivery-only location in Chicago.
“It is, without a doubt, the most interesting, challenging, exciting time,” she said last fall.
For Post, meeting those challenges means first building a diverse and engaged team. She’s been a champion of women in the workplace, and the company’s board is 50 percent women. Women make up half of the management team too, holding the CFO, CMO and chief people officer roles.
That visibility matters, she told NRN last fall, “because they can look up and see that there’s a track for them here.” And she has urged other restaurant companies to follow suit.
“The business case is out there that balanced gender organizations are more successful,” she added.
