The Women's Foodservice Forum's (WFF) annual Exective Summit kicked off last night, starting with a panel discussion with industry insiders Jean Birch, president of IHOP Restaurants; John Buckles, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Ventura Foods; and Hala Moddelmog, president of Arby's Restaurant Group. 

The summit is a premier industry event exclusively designed for executive level foodservice professionals to gain the insights and connections they need to overcome challenges in their careers.

During the discussion with Birch, Buckles, and Moddlemog, the panelists shared insights on how to handle difficult career transitions, along with personal experiences on how they ultimately transformed these hardships into very successful careers in foodservice.

"The purpose of Executive Summit is to educate, inform, and connect our industry leaders by sharing relative content and providing intimate access to renowned industry leaders," says Fritzi Woods, president and CEO of WFF. "The addition of these three speakers to our already impressive lineup will make the event even more elightening and valuable for our attendees."

These speakers will be joining previously announced presenters, including Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management Professor Robert C. Wolcott, Ph.D.; Associate Professor Tanya Menon; and Clinical Professor of Management and Finance Steven Rogers. 

Keynote speakers also include Dov Seidman, founder, chairman, and CEO of LRN and author of "HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything," as well as Dev Patnaik, CEO of Jump Associates and author of "Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy."

The Executive Summit will run through August 1 at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix.