Cheryl Bachelder - 2018 World Changer

Cheryl Bachelder is a passionate restaurant industry executive and former CEO of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. She is known for her strategic thinking, franchisee-focused approach, superior financial performance and the development of outstanding leaders and teams.

Bachelder joined Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen in November 2007, after serving as an active member of the Board for a year. She brought more than 35 years of experience in brand building, operations and public-company management at companies like Yum Brands, Domino’s Pizza, RJR Nabisco, The Gillette Company, and The Procter & Gamble Company.

“It [was] the most fun role of my lifetime, because it was God’s idea, not mine,” said Bachelder in a 2016 interview. “I think of it as a kind of redemption. This job has redeemed the early years of my career, when I was less focused on serving God in my work.” 

Bachelder holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance and Marketing from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She has been married for over 35 years to Chris Bachelder and they have three grown daughters.

Dare to Serve

Combining her Christian faith with her restaurant experience, Bachelder wrote and published a book titled “Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others.”  The book chronicles the tenets of how Bachelder reformed the culture within the Popeye franchise by daring to serve the people in her organization well. She describes a ‘servant leader’ as someone who embodies Joshua 1:9 and Philippians 2:3. 

In the Public’s Eye

In September 2015, Cheryl was awarded The Norman Brinker Award from Nation’s Restaurant News. She has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, and was named by CNBC’s Jim Cramer as one of his “21 Bankable CEOs” for 2014. In 2012, she was recognized as “Leader of the Year” by the Women’s Foodservice Forum, and received the Silver Plate Award from the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association.