DeCan Named COO of HoneyBaked

ATLANTA, Sept. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Original HoneyBaked Ham Company of Georgia has named Maggie DeCan chief operating officer. She joins an elite group of women in executive leadership roles in the U.S.

Although women make up nearly half of the labor force, only 14 percent of Fortune 500 companies claim women as COO, CIO, CEO or other corporate officers. More than one quarter of companies still have no women executive officers.

"Maggie's promotion to COO comes as no surprise to the WFF," said Fritzi Woods, president and CEO, Women's Foodservice Forum. "Her leadership skills and career at HoneyBaked Ham has been a fantastic representation of why building ready women talent is so critical to an organization. We celebrate her success!"

A University of Michigan graduate, DeCan began her retailing career at Macy's, then Belk department stores, and later became director of human resources at Circuit City. DeCan joined HoneyBaked in 2002 serving as chief people officer before becoming the head of operations in 2009.  She leads the company-owned stores, franchise store systems and ecommerce/shipping business.

"Over the past decade, Maggie has been a key leader at HoneyBaked," said Chuck Bengochea, CEO of HoneyBaked Ham. "Her exceptional background enables her to address our unique operational challenges while maintaining a values-driven company culture committed to fulfilling our mission."

In the midst of the recession, DeCan has delivered company-owned same-store sales growth of 4 percent over the past 30 months, due in part to store renovations, one of DeCan's top priorities. Over 30 percent of company-owned stores have been renovated recently, with plans to complete all stores by 2015. Many franchise locations are already following suit. This capital investment has contributed to strong growth in lunch, catering and gifting.  HoneyBaked is also seeing steady growth in its franchise system and franchisee unit sales, and increases in its catalog shipping and ecommerce business.

"HoneyBaked's mission is to 'Celebrate life, one meal at a time.'  That means being there for our customers when they celebrate with friends and families. The key to our success is two-fold; our incomparable products and our great people, associates and franchisees alike," said DeCan. "Our teams sacrifice a lot at the holiday to take care of our valued customers. For many families, bringing home a Honey Baked Ham or turkey is a decades-old tradition. We take that responsibility very seriously."

DeCan's leadership extends to her volunteer work in the community, where she is focused on education and helping people find jobs and become business leaders.  Holding the prestigious Visionary Leadership Award from the State PTA of Georgia, DeCan has served as a founder and chairman emeritus for Roswell North Elementary Education Foundation, formed to advance technology, science and math educational initiatives.  In addition, she has also served on the Local School Advisory Council and held PTA legislative chair.

DeCan also volunteers with networking programs to help people find job opportunities in the community.  She is also committed to helping people evolve in their career by serving in the Women's Foodservice Forum, an organization committed to developing future female business leaders.

"I want to help others succeed in any way that I can, both within our organization and beyond it," said DeCan. "HoneyBaked has offered me the resources and support I need to actively give something back to our community."

SOURCE HoneyBaked Ham