Kat Kole

College Dropout, Billion Dollar Executive

Katrina “Kat” Cole is a certified business mogul. Cole was born in Jacksonville, Florida as the eldest of three sisters. After dropping out from her engineering program at the University of North Florida, she embarked on a global career at Hooters. She worked multiple positions early on, from hostess to cook to manager, before the company sent her to Sydney to train new workers at the first ever Hooters Down Under. She continued traveling overseas to different locations to train employees before being promoted to vice president at 26 years old. During her time as VP, the company grew from 100 locations and $300 million in revenue to 500 locations and $1 billion in revenue.

“I help people realize they’re capable of more than they know, and I do this in three ways: by being positive and hopeful, by creating comparisons, and by getting my hands dirty,” said Cole in a TIME interview.

In 2010, Cole was hired by Cinnabon Inc. and became president of the company a year later. During her first three years, Cinnabon added 200 bakeries and became a global brand in 56 countries. In 2013, Cinnabon’s sales were estimated at $1 billion dollars. She was ranked in Fortune’s 40 under 40 top young business stars the same year. In addition, her humanitarian work includes generating sustainable development for women and children in need in Africa and volunteering for many food service related organizations in the region.