TAMPA — On Thursday, Feb. 15, The University of Tampa will welcome John Gainor, former president and CEO of International Dairy Queen, and Nick Friedman, president and co-founder of College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving, as part of the Sykes Hall of Fame Business Speaker Series. This event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited.
The presentation, “Driven to Succeed: Who Needs Customers When You Have Fans?” begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Crescent Club, located on the ninth floor of the Vaughn Center.
Dairy Queen practically invented the quick serve restaurant more than 75 years ago. Despite fierce competition, DQ now has more than 7,000 franchise stores around the world. Gainor, who served as CEO and president of International Dairy Queen from July, 1, 2008, to the end of 2017, says Dairy Queen doesn’t have customers, only fans.
Friedman turned a summer job hauling junk into a nationwide business with more than 100 fast-growing franchises across America. Unconventional thinking and fun are the rules on the road at College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving.
Register for the event by Tuesday, Feb. 13, at www.ut.edu/buisness/sykeshalloffame. For more information, contact Whitney Vance, coordinator of Sykes College of Business operations, at wvance@ut.edu or (813) 257-3782.
The University of Tampa is a private, residential university located on 110 acres on the riverfront in downtown Tampa. Known for academic excellence, personal attention and real-world experience in its undergraduate and graduate programs, the University serves approximately 9,000 students from 50 states and 140 countries. Approximately 62 percent of full-time students live on campus, and more than half of UT students are from Florida.
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