Rosati’s CEO: ‘If your company is a boys club then join the club’
Editor’s note: In honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, FastCasual interviewed several female leaders in the restaurant industry to learn about their success and how they feel about leading in a male-dominated industry. To read the entire series, click here.
Marla Topliff, president of Rosati’s Pizza, didn’t dream of becoming a restaurateur. In fact, she got her start in marketing but fell in love with the industry after working for Rosatti’s as its director of marketing.
“Being an ‘outsider,’ I had to spend time in the stores training and learning every position so I could understand the business better,” she said. “A journey I truly loved — it was an amazing education.”
Topliff became president of the Chicago-based brand in 1999, and has since become an advocate for pizza operators around the nation. She is chairman of the National Restaurant Association’s Pizzeria Council and a member of the International Franchise Association, where she serves on the membership and convention planning committees.
Got her start in the biz
Topliff, who has been in the restaurant business for 20 years, began her career in marketing. Rosati’s was her biggest client before she eventually became the brand’s director of marketing and later president in 1999.
On why women make great leaders
“Most women tend to be empathic, which is a positive when relating to the performance of employees. It gives them an advantage for better understand what others are feeling. Also women, as a rule, are great communicators, who have the ability to look at problems differently and gain perspective. But mostly I think women make good leaders because they have great vision, and the tenacity to follow through to make their visions become reality.”
Advice to women looking to lead
“Believe in yourself, and don’t take no for an answer. Keep an open mind, listen and learn as much as you can and never let your own ego get in your way. Dropping the ‘us against them attitude’ is the first rung on that ladder to the top. A good woman leader knows that gender doesn’t matter, only team work does.
“Don’t let your gender become an issue. If your company is a boys club then join the club. Remember, to be an equal, first, you have to prove yourself as an equal, then you can go on to become club president.”
