Speaker Introductions
100 Word Introduction
Mitzi Perdue likes nothing better than sharing insider secrets for what made Frank Perdue a success. During their 17-year marriage, she was able to ask her husband in real time why he was making the decisions he did, and she carefully recorded the attitudes that led to his growing a father and son operation into a company that today employs 19,000 Mitzi herself is no stranger to agriculture and management. A former rice grower in California, she is a past President of the 35,000-member American Agri-Women, the oldest and largest American farmwomen’s organization. When Frank and Mitzi met, back in 1988, they decided that chicken and rice go well together!
150 Word Introduction
Mitzi Perdue is the widow of the late Frank Perdue, and author of Tough Man, Tender Chicken: Business & Life Lessons from Frank. The book reached #5 in the Amazon rankings for Business Biographies.
She currently writes for the Academy of Women’s Health, and also for GEN, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. As a nationally syndicated columnist for 22 years she has written more than 1600 articles, and as a nationally syndicated TV hostess and producer, she produced more than 400 half hour shows.
Mitzi holds degrees from Harvard University and the George Washington University. A former rice grower, she is a past President of the 35,000-member American Agri-Women, the oldest and largest American farm women’s organization. She was also one of the U.S. Delegates to the United Nations Conference on Women in Nairobi and was a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Libraries and Information Science.
200 Word Introduction
Mitzi Perdue is the widow of the late Frank Perdue. Her biography, Tough Man, Tender Chicken: Business & Life Lessons from Frank Perdue, reached #5 in the Amazon rankings for Business Biographies. She’s also the daughter of the co-founder of the Sheraton Hotel Chain.
The Sheraton Hotel Chain and Perdue Farms both grew from two-man operations to companies that employed more than 20,000 people and operate in more than 100 countries. What are the secrets for how Ernest Henderson (Sheraton’s co-founder), and Frank Perdue achieved this?
Surprisingly, both men said the secret of their success was their employees. Both men knew how to inspire people to go the extra mile. And in both cases, their employees usually stayed with them for life. Both men knew how to create employee engagement.
Mitzi Perdue’s talk will focus on the techniques both men used. As the daughter of one of these business titans and the wife of the other, Mitzi got to watch up close and personal how they did it. In the case of both men, she was able to ask them in real time why they were making the decisions they made, and what their techniques were for creating intense, life-long employee loyalty.
Takeaways:
1. How to inspire people to go the extra mile.
2. How to make people want to work for your company for life.
