Herman Cain
 Raised in Georgia, Cain
adopted the lessons of his parents - dedication to hard work and the
importance of faith - and carried them with him to the pinnacle of
the corporate world. Cain earned a degree in mathematics from
Morehouse College in 1967 and later earned a master's degree in
computer science from Purdue University, while working as a
mathematician for the Department of the Navy. He then worked as a
business analyst for The Coca-Cola Company. In 1968, he married his
wife, Gloria and they have two grown children.
In 1977, Herman
Cain joined The Pillsbury Company and within three years, at the age
of 34, rose to the position of Vice President of Corporate Systems
and Services. Cain, reflecting his father's drive to seek greater
challenges, then set his sights on a corporate presidency.
With this goal ahead of him and his mother's faith to support him,
Cain resigned his senior position and started on another career path
- the restaurant industry. He started from the ground up by making
hamburgers at Pillsbury's Burger King division. Nine months later,
he was managing 400 Burger King units in the Philadelphia region,
the country's poorest performer. Within three years, his region had
earned the reputation for excellence and was the company's best.
In 1986, Pillsbury
appointed Cain to the presidency of the then financially troubled
Godfather's Pizza, Inc. chain headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. In
14 short months, under Cain's leadership, the chain regained
profitability. In 1988, he led his executive team in a buyout of the
company from Pillsbury.
Cain was elected to the Board of Directors of the National
Restaurant Association in 1998. In 1994 to 1995, he served as
Chairman of the Board of Directors. While leading this association,
he developed the organization into a pro-business voice via national
debates and speeches concerning health care reform, employment
policies, and taxation. Following this experience, he was appointed
to serve on the Economic Growth and Tax Reform Commission in
addition serving as Chairman and Member of the Board of Directors
for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. He then became a senior
advisor to the 1996 Dole/Kemp campaign for the Presidency.
Herman Cain continued the responsibilities of President and Chairman
of Godfather's Pizza, Incorporated, while beginning a second career
delivering national keynote speeches. Using his messages as the
foundation, he created his own leadership consulting company, THE
New Voice, Inc. THE New Voice, Inc. packages his speaking and
develops his products, including books, DVDs, CDs of gospel music,
and promotes his keynote speeches. He has authored three books to
date on topics ranging from leadership to self-empowerment including
"Leadership is Common Sense" and "CEO of Self."
In 1996, Cain became CEO and President of the National Restaurant
Association. He had been a member of the NRA Board since 1988, and
had served as its elected volunteer chairman in 1994/1995. Cain thus
became the only volunteer chairman to become the full-time CEO and
President of the Association while still a member of the Board. Cain
headed the NRA in this position for two and a half years.
In 1999, Cain
sought to leverage his restaurant experience with the technology
market and he became CEO and President of RetailDNA. Its mission is
to provide innovative marketing solutions to the retail sector.
Today, Herman is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host on
“The Herman Cain Show” out of Atlanta’s WSB 750AM and is a FOX News
Business Commentator. Cain remains President and CEO of THE New
Voice, Inc. and serves on the Boards of Directors for AGCO
Corporation, Aquila, Incorporated, Reader's Digest Association,
Incorporated, Hallmark Cards Incorporated and Whirlpool Corporation.
In 2004, he ran as a candidate for the United States Senate from
Georgia. |
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