Dee Ann Turner

Best-Selling Author & Former Vice President, Chick-fil-A

Dee Ann Turner

Best-Selling Author & Former Vice President, Chick-fil-A

Add to List Availability & Fees

Biography

Dee Ann Turner is a 33-year veteran of Chick-fil-A, Inc. Prior to retirement in 2018, she was Vice President, Talent and Vice President, Sustainability for Chick-fil-A, Inc. Selected as the company’s first female officer in 2001, she was instrumental in building and growing Chick-fil-A’s well-known culture and talent systems. During her long career, she worked closely with Chick-fil-A’s founder, S. Truett Cathy, and other key leaders as an architect of their organizational culture. Turner was responsible for thousands of selections of Chick-fil-A Franchisees and corporate staff members. Additionally, she led talent management, staff learning and development, diversity and inclusion, culture and engagement. Prior to her retirement, she launched and led Chick-fil-A’s sustainability and social responsibility function.

Today, she leads her own organization, Dee Ann Turner & Associates, LLC, writing books, speaking to over 50 audiences per year and consulting and coaching leaders globally. She is the author of the bestsellers It’s My Pleasure: The Impact of Extraordinary Talent and a Compelling Culture (2015) and Bet on Talent: How to Create a Remarkable Culture and Win the Hearts of Customers (2019). Her newest book, Crush Your Career: Ace the Interview, Land the Job and Launch Your Future released in March 2021 and topped the Amazon bestsellers list. She also hosts the Crush Your Career podcast.

Turner is a graduate of Clayton State University with a degree in management. She also completed executive education courses at Emory University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Virginia’s Darden Business School. She is a 2009 alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

Currently, Turner serves on the board of advisors for The Jordan Raynor Company and the Board of Directors for Booster Enterprises and Oak Dental Group. Additionally, she is an advisor to several non-profits.

Speaker Videos

Bet on Talent | Fox Business

Shaping Corporate Culture

Winning Hearts

Recipe to Emotional Connections and Remarkable Culture

See Fewer Videos

Speech Topics

Creating A Culture of Care

This talk outlines the elements that create a Remarkable culture: A Meaningful Purpose, A Challenging Mission and Demonstrated Core Values. Dee Ann explains how to create these elements within your organization and how to apply them to win the hearts of employees and customers.

Win with Who

To win in the marketplace, selecting and keeping extraordinary talent is paramount. Dee Ann uses her experiences of selecting thousands of people for hospitality roles to explain how to select for character, competency and chemistry. Extraordinary talent flourishing in a remarkable culture will create amazing customer experiences.

Bet on Talent

In this message, Dee Ann explains how to combine the ingredients of a Remarkable Culture with Extraordinary Talent to create customer loyalty through legendary customer experience. The difference between an amazing customer service and a poor customer experience is one employee who cares about the customer. Dee Ann helps her audience how to select, train and motivate people to care more about those they serve.

Selecting Extraordinary Talent

In this workshop, Dee Ann teaches the technique of behavioral interviewing helping participants learn and apply this crucial skill to select extraordinary talent. She explains the difference between “hiring people” and “selecting talent.” Participants can immediately apply the skill by creating a job profile, planning the interview and role playing with other participants with Dee Ann’s coaching.

Help Your Extraordinary Talent Crush Their Career

Organizational leaders are frustrated with talent that understand the competency of their roles but struggle to navigate the culture and chemistry of the organization. Dee Ann is a guide to leaders, mentors, coaches and parents on how to help the emerging talent you lead understand the landmines in their career and how to manage those challenges. This keynote inspires and teaches leaders to be more effective coaches and mentors so that the organization can achieve its goals as a new generation of talent emerges.

3 Truths I Wish I Had Known About the World of Work

This is a keynote for emerging talent and those in transition to improve skills in discerning a calling, preparing a resume and on-line presence, interviewing, and navigating such issues as performance management, organizational politics, culture and much more. This keynote is for emerging leaders, someone who is launching into the workforce or experiencing job or career transition.

Testimonials

"Dee Ann is such a wealth of HR and Organizational wisdom. We had the opportunity to listen to her deliver lessons on culture and talent at our annual Firm meeting and she really nailed it with her stories and Chick-fil-A leadership experiences. We could have listened to her share for an entire day. Thank you, Dee Ann!"

- Chief Operating Officer at Mike Hostilo Law Firm

"Dee Ann Turner was brilliant in her virtual presentation to our team! She is a great storyteller and provided "Second Mile Service" as she discussed her leadership journey and why "people decisions are the most important decisions." If you or your company want to learn how to create a remarkable culture, recruit extraordinary talent, and provide amazing customer/employee experiences, I would highly recommend to Bet On Dee Ann Turner!"

- Talent & Marketing Manager at Rabren General Contractors

"Dee Ann is an amazing speaker and teacher who connects with her audience on both a heart and head level. Her stories create incredible points of application that are relatable to each of us. The credibility she brings, with her real-world work experience as a highly successful executive at one of the most well-respected customer experience organizations in America, cause the participants to mediately engage in what she is sharing. Dee Ann Is very easy to work with and very willing to collaborate to create the best possible outcome for your participants."

- Executive Director at ServiStar LLC

"Dee Ann is a dynamic and engaging speaker! As the feature keynote for our Association’s first ever virtual Leadership Speaker Series, she captured the audience of experienced HR professionals and business leaders with her charm and storytelling. She was able to condense an impressive career of building a world-class culture, through talent, into a powerful message. However, it is her passion for people that was most obvious – and quite inspirational. She is truly a leader among leaders. The session ended with a fun, spirited Q&A with our audience. Her style and content resonated with everyone. In fact, many expressed the desire for us to extend the session! In addition to her expertise, Dee Ann is the consummate professional and an absolute pleasure to work with. At every step, she made it clear that OUR event success was her focus. If you are looking to improve your culture and talent systems, then I would give Dee Ann my highest recommendation for your organization’s next leadership event."

- Vice President of Marketing, AAIM Employer’s Association

"Dee Ann Turner spoke to around 1000 of our franchisees at our annual convention speaking to us about the concepts in her book "Bet on Talent". Through her vast amount of experience and very relevant anecdotes, she was able to convey a message that was unbelievably well-received by our franchisees and certainly met our needs as a franchisor. Thank you, Dee Ann!"

- Vice President, Experience Kona Ice

"We were able to have Dee Ann Turner come to our All Staff meeting and discuss exceptional customer service with our employees. A 33-year veteran of Chick-fil-A and the first female officer of the company, Dee Ann gave a great motivational talk to our employees. We purchased her book, "Bet on Talent" which she graciously signed for staff. I can highly recommend her as a speaker for your organization."

- Chief Executive Officer at Northeastern Oklahoma Community Health Centers, Inc.

"Our Bolte School of Business at Mount St. Mary's University had the pleasure of inviting Dee Ann to speak at our annual business in society and social responsibility event. Not only did she offer a remarkable presentation on managing an organizational culture based on values and putting people first, but she also gave her time before the event to share her insights and advice with our Women in Business club. Members of the club were captivated by her experiences and were thrilled to have Dee Ann personally sign their copies of her new book, "Bet on Talent." It's been a few days after the event and students are still raving about her presentation and the impression she made on campus. Dee Ann is a skilled speaker, but even more so, has the unique ability to connect with her audience and authentically deliver a message that is relevant and important for all business professionals to hear. I highly recommend her as a keynote speaker for any organization to emphasize the importance of investing in our most important assets - our people."

- Assistant Professor of Management | Certified Professional Coach | Speaker | Consulting Partner, Vide Consulting

"Dee Ann Turner shared her “Recipe for a Remarkable Culture” presentation with men and women in Philadelphia at a 4word Christian working women event, and she lived up to her expertise in every way. We would highly recommend her to any organization of any size. The content of her presentation is essential knowledge for leaders who know that organizational culture is crucial to achieving long term fiscal goals. Ms. Turner presents in a way that is engaging and memorable, with great real-life examples, personal testimonies, and clear and actionable steps for her audience to implement. Her presentation style, coupled with her effective, tested ‘recipe’ proved to be an enjoyable and highly important topic for our group and the numerous organizations represented at the event."

- Digital Direct Response | Relationship Fundraising | Strategy & Program Execution

"What a Remarkable Experience we had when Dee Ann spoke with our entire team! We made a fantastic day of it. She met with our Leadership Team and laid out some very practical insights we will work on for months to come. Then, she shared openly about what it takes to create a rare and remarkable experience for our people, just as they do every day at Chick-fil-A. We wrapped up our time with a great luncheon which Dee Ann was able to speak forthrightly with all the women in our organization. It was truly a “WOW!” Experience. We are already trying to initiate some positive shifts in our culture that will create a remarkable difference. Thank you, Dee Ann! Can’t wait to have you back!"

- HR Business & Organizational Change

"If your organization has not heard Dee Ann Turner speak you need to hire her now! At Unconventional Business Network we host regular events in multiple cities, and we keep inviting Dee Ann back to each of our cities. Her warm engaging style, her heart tugging stories, and her humor makes for an incredible experience! When you add the power of her Chick-fil-a experiences and her great content, especially her new book, Bet on Talent, your guests will rave about her presentation as ours have. If you are someone who hires speakers, book Dee Ann now or otherwise it may be years before she's available!"

- Founder/CEO at Unconventional Business Network

"I worked with and knew Dee Ann while she was at Chick-fil-A, and I was the customer lead with Coca-Cola on that partner. What a pleasure to know such a delightful person. Through our interaction and discussion, Dee Ann was kind enough to come and share her learnings from her first book, "It's My Pleasure", with our broader, global campus at Coca-Cola. Our global team filled the auditorium for her as she shared her learnings in the areas of organizational culture and influence on leaders and presented relevant and applicable information. Dee Ann was such a wonderful storyteller, sharing her direct experiences in a heartfelt way. We left the day with loads of great information and with smiles on our faces. I can't recommend her enough to help any organization get better."

- Sales & Customer Relationship Leader/Strategic Value Creation/Transformative Partnerships/Analytical Decision Making

"Dee Ann delivered an awesome Keynote Address at Opaa! Food Management's annual Leadership Conference. Dee Ann's inspiring and information speech, "Winning with Who," was an expertly crafted talk to our 350 attendees, which met our specific educational objectives, intertwined stories from her experiences at Chick-fil-A, and even incorporated insight gleaned from our team members' "success stories" from earlier in the day. I would highly recommend Dee Ann to any organization seeking to enhance their culture by Betting on Talent."

- Experienced Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, OPAA!