Benjamin Kitay Story

I've had a bit of a wild ride. I lived in three countries, traveled to 5 continents, and made good friends on every one of them. I run a company by day, play in a band at night, and write books in my spare time. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up.

From the diary of Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Some fun facts and anecdotes from your life.

Where are you from originally? What are some of your favorite memories as a child?

Which people helped you to get where you are today and what did they do for you?

Who or what inspires you?

Professional Career

Can you briefly share your professional journey?

What is your current role in the industry, and what are you aiming for in the future?

Did your career turn out just the way you wanted it to?

What impact has your educational background had on your professional activities?

You have had a varied career to date. Explain some of your proudest achievements?

Leadership Advice

What advice would you give to anyone seeking a career in your industry?

In the Information Age, millennial s tend to be interested in leadership roles. Do you have any advice for millennial professionals starting their careers?

What is your favorite book and can you explain what you like about it?

What do you think about Executives Diary?

Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Where are you from originally? What are some of your favorite memories as a child?

I was born in New York City when my father was in medical school. As soon as he graduated, we moved to St. Louis for one year for his internship. Then Cleveland, OH for his residency. Then he went into the US Air Force and we lived on a B-52 base in Abilene Texas. We settled in Atlanta after the Vietnam war where he taught Obstetrics at Emory University. At that time my mother was in law school at Emory also. I was inpired by the Apollo program and wanted to be an astronaut.

From the diary of Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Some fun facts and anecdotes from your life.

Where are you from originally? What are some of your favorite memories as a child?

Which people helped you to get where you are today and what did they do for you?

Who or what inspires you?

Professional Career

Can you briefly share your professional journey?

What is your current role in the industry, and what are you aiming for in the future?

Did your career turn out just the way you wanted it to?

What impact has your educational background had on your professional activities?

You have had a varied career to date. Explain some of your proudest achievements?

Leadership Advice

What advice would you give to anyone seeking a career in your industry?

In the Information Age, millennial s tend to be interested in leadership roles. Do you have any advice for millennial professionals starting their careers?

What is your favorite book and can you explain what you like about it?

What do you think about Executives Diary?

Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Which people helped you to get where you are today and what did they do for you?

I started my foodservice career at age 16 working for Russ Umphenour' RTM when he had 7 Arby's locations. He eventually grew to become the largest Arby's franchisee in the world. Everything I know about running a restaurant - and a business for that matter - I learned from him.

My career at Coke took an intersting turn when Greg Petro, a Vice-President there, brought me to Japan to run the fountain business in that country. He had the single biggest influence on the direction of my career other than Russ.

From the diary of Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Some fun facts and anecdotes from your life.

Where are you from originally? What are some of your favorite memories as a child?

Which people helped you to get where you are today and what did they do for you?

Who or what inspires you?

Professional Career

Can you briefly share your professional journey?

What is your current role in the industry, and what are you aiming for in the future?

Did your career turn out just the way you wanted it to?

What impact has your educational background had on your professional activities?

You have had a varied career to date. Explain some of your proudest achievements?

Leadership Advice

What advice would you give to anyone seeking a career in your industry?

In the Information Age, millennial s tend to be interested in leadership roles. Do you have any advice for millennial professionals starting their careers?

What is your favorite book and can you explain what you like about it?

What do you think about Executives Diary?

Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Who or what inspires you?

The people who work for Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA are my heroes. They are exploring the cosmos more than anyone else in the world. They bring other planets up close. They have done more with less than anyone else I can think of.

From the diary of Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Some fun facts and anecdotes from your life.

Where are you from originally? What are some of your favorite memories as a child?

Which people helped you to get where you are today and what did they do for you?

Who or what inspires you?

Professional Career

Can you briefly share your professional journey?

What is your current role in the industry, and what are you aiming for in the future?

Did your career turn out just the way you wanted it to?

What impact has your educational background had on your professional activities?

You have had a varied career to date. Explain some of your proudest achievements?

Leadership Advice

What advice would you give to anyone seeking a career in your industry?

In the Information Age, millennial s tend to be interested in leadership roles. Do you have any advice for millennial professionals starting their careers?

What is your favorite book and can you explain what you like about it?

What do you think about Executives Diary?

Benjamin Kitay's story

Professional Career

Can you briefly share your professional journey?

I spent 15 years in the beverage business with Coca-Cola in the USA and Asia, then 15 years in the C-suite of several restaurant chains, including one chain that I founded. When Subway's purchasing coop hired me to negotiate and manage their beverage programs worldwide, it opened the world of soft drink contract negotiation to me. And when I left Subway, I started the Beverage Contract Negotiation Institute, which morphed into BevTrust Associates, where I am now.

From the diary of Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Some fun facts and anecdotes from your life.

Where are you from originally? What are some of your favorite memories as a child?

Which people helped you to get where you are today and what did they do for you?

Who or what inspires you?

Professional Career

Can you briefly share your professional journey?

What is your current role in the industry, and what are you aiming for in the future?

Did your career turn out just the way you wanted it to?

What impact has your educational background had on your professional activities?

You have had a varied career to date. Explain some of your proudest achievements?

Leadership Advice

What advice would you give to anyone seeking a career in your industry?

In the Information Age, millennial s tend to be interested in leadership roles. Do you have any advice for millennial professionals starting their careers?

What is your favorite book and can you explain what you like about it?

What do you think about Executives Diary?

Benjamin Kitay's story

Professional Career

What is your current role in the industry, and what are you aiming for in the future?

I lead the negotiation efforts for BevTrust...helping restaurant chains maximize their soft drink contracts. I hope to help all foodservice operators avoid the pitfalls of soft drink negotiations and the land mines that are in the contracts. My goal is to do it worldwide, as the international soft drink contracts are even more full of dangerous land mines for restaurant chains.

From the diary of Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Some fun facts and anecdotes from your life.

Where are you from originally? What are some of your favorite memories as a child?

Which people helped you to get where you are today and what did they do for you?

Who or what inspires you?

Professional Career

Can you briefly share your professional journey?

What is your current role in the industry, and what are you aiming for in the future?

Did your career turn out just the way you wanted it to?

What impact has your educational background had on your professional activities?

You have had a varied career to date. Explain some of your proudest achievements?

Leadership Advice

What advice would you give to anyone seeking a career in your industry?

In the Information Age, millennial s tend to be interested in leadership roles. Do you have any advice for millennial professionals starting their careers?

What is your favorite book and can you explain what you like about it?

What do you think about Executives Diary?

Benjamin Kitay's story

Professional Career

Did your career turn out just the way you wanted it to?

No way! I was swept up in whirlpool that hasnt stopped spinning yet. I always just did the best I could do. I never had a career plan. My plan was to do a great job...always. It led me to fantastic experiences and a wealth of knowledge that I now use to help the industry.

From the diary of Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Some fun facts and anecdotes from your life.

Where are you from originally? What are some of your favorite memories as a child?

Which people helped you to get where you are today and what did they do for you?

Who or what inspires you?

Professional Career

Can you briefly share your professional journey?

What is your current role in the industry, and what are you aiming for in the future?

Did your career turn out just the way you wanted it to?

What impact has your educational background had on your professional activities?

You have had a varied career to date. Explain some of your proudest achievements?

Leadership Advice

What advice would you give to anyone seeking a career in your industry?

In the Information Age, millennial s tend to be interested in leadership roles. Do you have any advice for millennial professionals starting their careers?

What is your favorite book and can you explain what you like about it?

What do you think about Executives Diary?

Benjamin Kitay's story

Professional Career

What impact has your educational background had on your professional activities?

I wrote a book about that. I studied history in college. I was a mediocre student. I had no idea what I was going to do with a history degree. But to my suprise, those studies have really served me well in business. 70% of the top 500 companies' CEOs have liberal arts degrees, not business degrees. My book is a guide for liberal arts graduates who want to enter business. It's available on Amazon, by the way. It is entitled, "You Majored in What? The Liberal Arts Graduate's Guide to Entering Business". Copy and paste this link: https://www.amazon.com/You-Majored-What-Graduates-Entering-ebook/dp/B01FE0GU7M/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?keywords=ben+Kitay+You+Majored+in+what&qid=1579195913&sr=8-1-fkmr0

Studying history taught me essential critical thinking skills. It gave me a perspective I would not have had without it. The past holds many valuable lessons.

From the diary of Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Some fun facts and anecdotes from your life.

Where are you from originally? What are some of your favorite memories as a child?

Which people helped you to get where you are today and what did they do for you?

Who or what inspires you?

Professional Career

Can you briefly share your professional journey?

What is your current role in the industry, and what are you aiming for in the future?

Did your career turn out just the way you wanted it to?

What impact has your educational background had on your professional activities?

You have had a varied career to date. Explain some of your proudest achievements?

Leadership Advice

What advice would you give to anyone seeking a career in your industry?

In the Information Age, millennial s tend to be interested in leadership roles. Do you have any advice for millennial professionals starting their careers?

What is your favorite book and can you explain what you like about it?

What do you think about Executives Diary?

Benjamin Kitay's story

Professional Career

You have had a varied career to date. Explain some of your proudest achievements?

My greatest achievement is saving my clients over $1 billion over my consulting career. The deep thinking about the subject and deep experience from both sides of the negotiating table gives me a unique look inside the needs of all parties. I'm not aware of anyone else who has that kind of broad and deep experience. It was a bit of an accident that I was able to combine all of those varied experiences into a valuable service that helps liberate restaurant operators. But I am most proud of it.

From the diary of Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Some fun facts and anecdotes from your life.

Where are you from originally? What are some of your favorite memories as a child?

Which people helped you to get where you are today and what did they do for you?

Who or what inspires you?

Professional Career

Can you briefly share your professional journey?

What is your current role in the industry, and what are you aiming for in the future?

Did your career turn out just the way you wanted it to?

What impact has your educational background had on your professional activities?

You have had a varied career to date. Explain some of your proudest achievements?

Leadership Advice

What advice would you give to anyone seeking a career in your industry?

In the Information Age, millennial s tend to be interested in leadership roles. Do you have any advice for millennial professionals starting their careers?

What is your favorite book and can you explain what you like about it?

What do you think about Executives Diary?

Benjamin Kitay's story

Leadership Advice

What advice would you give to anyone seeking a career in your industry?

I would say learn everything you can about the people you serve - your client, your customer, your consumer. Having deep and broad knowledge is why people will pay you.

From the diary of Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Some fun facts and anecdotes from your life.

Where are you from originally? What are some of your favorite memories as a child?

Which people helped you to get where you are today and what did they do for you?

Who or what inspires you?

Professional Career

Can you briefly share your professional journey?

What is your current role in the industry, and what are you aiming for in the future?

Did your career turn out just the way you wanted it to?

What impact has your educational background had on your professional activities?

You have had a varied career to date. Explain some of your proudest achievements?

Leadership Advice

What advice would you give to anyone seeking a career in your industry?

In the Information Age, millennial s tend to be interested in leadership roles. Do you have any advice for millennial professionals starting their careers?

What is your favorite book and can you explain what you like about it?

What do you think about Executives Diary?

Benjamin Kitay's story

Leadership Advice

In the Information Age, millennial s tend to be interested in leadership roles. Do you have any advice for millennial professionals starting their careers?

Don Keough of Coca-Cola used to tell us that you learn more from the bad bosses than you do from the good ones. In a way he had a good point. Learning how not to lead is just as important as learning how to lead. It took me a long time to be a decent leader and I'm still not where I would like to be on the good leader - bad leader continuum. I'm still learning.

And... read books. Very few people do that these days. The more you read books, the better the leader you will be.

From the diary of Benjamin Kitay's story

Life and Experiences

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Some fun facts and anecdotes from your life.

Where are you from originally? What are some of your favorite memories as a child?

Which people helped you to get where you are today and what did they do for you?

Who or what inspires you?

Professional Career

Can you briefly share your professional journey?

What is your current role in the industry, and what are you aiming for in the future?

Did your career turn out just the way you wanted it to?

What impact has your educational background had on your professional activities?

You have had a varied career to date. Explain some of your proudest achievements?

Leadership Advice

What advice would you give to anyone seeking a career in your industry?

In the Information Age, millennial s tend to be interested in leadership roles. Do you have any advice for millennial professionals starting their careers?

What is your favorite book and can you explain what you like about it?

What do you think about Executives Diary?

Benjamin Kitay's story

Leadership Advice

What is your favorite book and can you explain what you like about it?

That's a tough question because I have so many favorites. But a colleague of mine at Coca-Cola named George Bradt wrote a book called "The New Leader's 90 Day Action Plan" which was immensely helpful to me. Anyone stepping into a leadership role - whether a fledgling leader or experienced one - can use the advice in that book. I did.

I'll also read anything Nelson DeMille and George Will write.