Inaugural Chick-fil-A Leadercast Slated for May 7 in Atlanta

ATLANTA, April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Chick-fil-A® and GiANT Impact, an international leadership company in the business of "influencing influencers," have joined forces to create the first-ever Chick-fil-A Leadercast to take place in Atlanta on Friday, May 7, 2010. This all-day leadership training event, which boasts high-profile speakers such as Jim Collins, John Maxwell and Tony Dungy, will also be broadcast live from the Georgia World Congress Center to approximately 400 host sites throughout North America and abroad. Host sites will use the event to build relationships in their communities and offer leadership training to their teams.

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The theme of this year's Chick-fil-A Leadercast is "Be the One," encouraging leaders to make a lasting impact in the lives of those they influence. What started in 2000 as a half-day, classroom-style event has grown into a full-day experiential conference with 10 world-renowned leaders speaking about enduring leadership principles.

"This year GiANT Impact will celebrate the 10th anniversary of this global leadership event," said Jeremie Kubicek, president and chief executive officer of GiANT Impact. "To mark this occasion, we proudly partnered with Chick-fil-A, a company that credits its success to its core values and its focus on developing leaders and loyalty, and changed the name of the event from the Maximum Impact Simulcast to Chick-fil-A Leadercast."

"Chick-fil-A is excited to partner with GiANT Impact to help bring this leadership initiative to leaders across the country and around the world to help build stronger communities through the leadership best practices that will be shared on May 7," said Dan T. Cathy, president and chief operating officer of Chick-fil-A. "A service-based leadership mentality is the key to success in any industry and something we at Chick-fil-A take very seriously. We know that the new Chick-fil-A Leadercast will build on previous GiANT Impact success and we are excited to help build awareness and especially attendance at host sites through chain-wide promotions."

With a group of speakers grounded in leadership training and speaking from their experience, Chick-fil-A Leadercast is designed to foster authenticity in leading at all levels, positions and stages. This year's keynote speakers include:

• Jim Collins – Author of "Good to Great" and "How the Mighty Fall," and co-author of "Built to Last"
• Tony Dungy – Retired head coach for the Indianapolis Colts (pre-recorded)
• John C. Maxwell – Leadership expert and best-selling author of "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership"
• Steve Uzzell – Award-winning corporate photographer and former National Geographic staff member
• Mark Sanborn – Best-selling author of "The Fred Factor"
• Connie Podesta – Expert in the psychology of human behavior and leadership development
• Jim Goodnight – Chief Executive Officer of SAS Institute, Inc.
• Ed Bastian – President of Delta Air Lines
• Ben Carson – Neurosurgeon and professor of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Chip Heath – Author of "Made to Stick," columnist for Fast Company and Stanford University professor

The live event will be held in the Sidney Marcus Auditorium at the Georgia World Congress Center May 7 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. To attend the event or learn more about hosting opportunities, visit www.chick-fil-aleadercast.com.

About Chick-fil-A, Inc.

Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. is the nation's second-largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain (based on sales), currently with more than 1,480 restaurants in 38 states and Washington D.C. Chick-fil-A produced record sales in 2009 of $3.22 billion – an 8.6 percent overall increase and an 2.52 percent same-store sales gain that helped extend the chain's streak of consecutive sales gains to 42 years. Credited with inventing the boneless breast of chicken sandwich and first introducing the chicken nugget concept, Chick-fil-A serves nutritious and freshly prepared food products in mall locations, stand-alone restaurants, drive-thru-only restaurants, Chick-fil-A Dwarf House^® and Truett's Grill^® full-service restaurants, and through licensed outlets in college campuses, hospitals, airports, businesses and industrial sites. More information about Chick-fil-A is available on the chain's websites, located at www.chick-fil-a.com, www.chick-fil-apressroom.com, www.truettcathy.com and www.facebook.com/chick-fil-a.

About GiANT Impact

GiANT Impact influences leaders to impact the world. GiANT is headquartered in Atlanta with offices in Oklahoma City. GiANT Impact builds programs for customers based on leadership, intentionality and accountability. GiANT Impact's offerings feature timeless leadership ideals from thought leaders like best-selling author Dr. John C. Maxwell, and include customized resources, training workshops, coaching, events, assessments and more. Visit www.giantimpact.com for more information.

SOURCE Chick-fil-A