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– Click/Watch slideshow by Sarah Funderburk
Growing up with an alcoholic father and working as a “Hooters girl” doesn’t sound like the biography of a CEO of a multi-million dollar company, but that’s Kat Cole’s story.
Cole worked her way up Hooters’ ranks and at 19 dropped out of college to open a franchise in Australia. She ascended quickly to the role of executive vice president. When she decided she needed a degree, Georgia State made a special exception to admit her to its MBA program.
Now, not only is she President of Sandy Springs-based Cinnabon, she was also an inspirational speaker at “Cooking Up Success.”