Summary:

A founding family member of Donatos Pizza, Jane Grote Abell currently holds the title of Chairwoman of the Board. Throughout her many leadership positions, she helped steer the company’s business strategy. In 2003, Jane was a major catalyst behind the decision to purchase Donatos back from McDonald’s. Following the buy back, in December of 2006, Jane was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer.
Jane is a member of the American Heart Association Go Red for Women and the co-chair for the 2015-2016 Go Red Campaign. She is a founding member of the Ross Leadership Institute and serves on the Otterbein Women’s Leadership Advisory Council. She sits on the Board of Directors for Reeb Avenue Center, Action for Children, Experience Columbus and I Know I Can. In 2014, Columbus CEO Magazine named Jane CEO of the Year and Franchise Update Magazine listed her as one of the Top 24 Women in Franchising. In 2015, Jane released her first book THE MISSING PIECE: Doing Business the Donatos Way.

Milemarkers:

(00:00:00) Opening remarks
(00:00:36) Facilities Management eXpress (FMX)
(00:01:06) The SunDown Group
(00:01:28) SHARE
(00:01:50) Molli Ross
(00:02:15) The Conquering Columbus Podcast Startup Package
(00:02:28) Like, subscribe, and share Conquering Columbus
(00:02:36) Conquering Columbus Intro
(00:03:32) Introduction to Jane (Grote) Abell
(00:04:48) Jane’s childhood and upbringing
(00:11:15) The growth and evolution of Donatos
(00:16:30) Selling the business to McDonald’s
(00:19:40) The path of the family after the sale to McDonald’s
(00:23:10) Buying Donatos back from McDonald’s
(00:28:30) “I believed in our product, but more importantly I believed in our people”
(00:30:30) The process of turning Donatos around after the buyback
(00:35:30) The future for Donatos
(00:37:54) Reeb Avenue Center and Jane’s other community initiatives
(00:45:30) Jane’s passions outside of business
(00:47:33) Jane’s experience on Undercover Boss
(00:52:05) Live Uncomfortably
(00:54:00) Like, subscribe, and share Conquering Columbus
(00:54:26) Facilities Management eXpress (FMX)
(00:54:58) The SunDown Group
(00:55:20) SHARE
(00:55:42) Molli Ross
(00:56:05) The Conquering Columbus Podcast Startup Package
(00:56:25) Conquering Columbus Outro

Links:

Donatos Pizza
Jane (Grote) Abell
Reeb Avenue Center
Facilities Management eXpress (FMX)
SHARE
The SunDown Group
Molli Ross[subscribe]