Coca‑Cola and Women’s Foodservice Forum Inspire Brilliance at Leadership Development Workshop

The Coca‑Cola Company welcomed more than 200 leaders—including representatives from bottlers, customers and industry partners—to its global headquarters in Atlanta on Nov. 14 for a Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) Leadership Development Workshop. The immersive program was filled with interactive education sessions, keynote speakers, an executive panel and networking opportunities designed to inspire action, foster growth and facilitate connections.

WFF provides research, insights and best practices to help companies create work environments where women thrive. Coca‑Cola is a long-time WFF partner, which supports its 2030 aspiration to be 50% led by women globally.

At The Coca‑Cola Company, we believe that investing in and empowering women not only directly benefits them, but also our business and our communities. That’s why partnerships with organizations like WFF are important in developing impactful programming to accelerate our joint effort.

“We realize that by working with our customers, suppliers and industry peers, we can make an even greater impact than we can on our own,” said Tanika Cabral, Vice President and General Manager of Franchise Leadership & Operations for Coca‑Cola North America, and a WFF Executive Board Member. “WFF provides a platform to explore challenges and share learnings on important issues we all face, but rarely have the opportunity to discuss collectively in the context of day-to-day business. Coming together like this helps us move forward faster.”

The executive panel, led by Cabral, featured Tapaswee Chandele, SVP of Global Talent, Development and HR System Partnerships at The Coca‑Cola Company; Kate Jaspon, CFO of Inspire Brands and WFF Chair-Elect; and Kerri Christian, SVP of Marketing, Go To Foods.

Tapaswee’s response to a question about pursuing opportunities only to find that the “door has closed” drew applause from the audience.   

“When we’re not careful, we look more inward than outward,” she said. “I encourage you to look outside more than inside and broaden your world spectrum. See what’s happening in the industry and reskill yourself every day. You’ll see that it’s not the one door you’re looking at… it’s the entire building. And in that building, you choose where you want to go.”

The workshop also featured remarks from Candace Doby, founder and CEO of The Can-Do Company, who challenged the audience to manage fear, activate personal courage and take worthwhile risks to fully unleash their professional potential. Courtney Ramsey of Courtney Ramsey Speakers spoke about the need to clarify and amplify the unique “superpowers” everyone has to offer. 

The Atlanta event—the largest of the eight-city tour—marked the final stop on a traveling WFF workshop that serves as a precursor to the signature Annual Leadership Development Conference (ALDC) early next year in Dallas. Historically, Coca‑Cola North America has sponsored the largest delegation of participants at the annual event, a powerful and career-defining experience focused on the “limitless” growth opportunities for women in the industry.

Dagmar Boggs, President of Food Service & On-Premise for Coca‑Cola North America, and long-time WFF sponsor, is committed to the partnership.

“We are so proud of the progress that the Forum has been able to make and look forward to continuing our journey together,” Boggs said. “It’s why I continue to provide WFF scholarships and memberships for teammates across our system. I believe in this work… we believe in this work.”