Carin Stutz: Restaurant Industry Icon Pays It Forward
From I Used to be Somebody by Carl Landau
September 23, 2025 · 48 min · Episode 99
About this episode
Carin Stutz shares her extensive experience in the restaurant industry and her commitment to giving back.
Who doesn't like to go out to eat? Carin Stutz gives you a behind the scenes look into the restaurant business. She is a true icon in the industry spending 40+ years as a C-level Exec. She started as a manager trainee at Wendy's International and she worked her way up to Division Vice President. She shares stories of working with the celebrity Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's, as well as her brush with fame by meeting movie star George Clooney. The rest of her career was in the hot trend of "fast casual" dining, with C-Level positions at Applebee's, Chili's and another half dozen other successful chains. Carin shares what the restaurant business is really like, as in the long hard hours, the missed vacations and family events. Yet she truly loves the industry and the people. She is making up for lost time now with lots of international travel and attending concerts every week. She is also giving back to her industry. She helped start a wildly successful non-profit and serves on lots of very worthwhile boards. She has dedicated her (un)retirement to giving back! More about Carin Stutz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carin-stutz-832b766 Episode Content…
People in this episode
Host: Carl Landau
Guest: Carin Stutz
Topics covered
- restaurant industry
- career development
- fast casual dining
- non-profit work
- celebrity encounters
Keywords
- restaurant business
- C-level executive
- fast casual
- non-profit
- career stories
Sponsors
How to Retire and Not Die, Capital Advantage
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Wendy's International, Applebee's, Chili's
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