The Hospitality Buzz: Women In The Workplace Edition

The Hospitality Buzz is BACK and our most recent episode features our own Jeanine Cosgrove-Albert speaking with four leaders in the hospitality and food service industry on the experience of women in the workplace both before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The panelists discuss the importance of supporting other women in the workplace while also acknowledging the unfair factors that contribute to some women’s inability to advance their careers regardless of such support. Drawing from their personal experiences at Pepsico, Ecolab, GrubHub and Zee the Cook, our panel’s reflection on what it means to be a women in leadership throughout both their careers and in the pandemic specifically was eye opening and a must watch.

Check out each of our panelists below and make sure you’re following us on social media so you can see clips from the latest episode in the coming weeks and stay tuned for the full episode to be posted soon!

Sumi DeBenedittis: Director of Food Service Development and Communications at PepsiCo Sumi has been part of PepsiCo’s Foodservice division for 20 years. She is currently part of the National Foodservice sales team managing sales and industry communications, activities that promote and enhance the most important topics for our customers and efforts to elevate our Foodservice associates and partners.

Sumi came to PepsiCo in 2001, after spending four years in advertising at Saatchi & Saatchi and Wrenchead.com. Her roles at PepsiCo have included Customer Marketing, Industry Relations, Sales Chief of Staff, Equipment Innovation and Foodservice Communications. She is also President of Valor, PepsiCo’s employee resource group for the veteran community and Business Development lead for PAN, PepsiCo’s group for Asian employees.

Sumi has served in a variety of roles with our key industry partners. She is currently the Diversity & Inclusion Council Chair for the Society for Hospitality & Foodservice Management (SHFM) and previously served on its Board of Directors, as National Conference Chair and Marketing Committee Chair. She has also volunteered for committees with the Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF), the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance (MFHA) and the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA). Among the recognitions she has received are two PepsiCo Chairman’s Awards for Pepsi Spire and Hello Goodness Vending, the SHFM Spirit Award, SHFM’s Robert Pacifico Leadership Award, the SHFM Leadership Award, and Total Foodservice’s Top Women in Metro New York for Foodservice & Hospitality.

Sumi grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and graduated from Bryn Mawr College with an AB in Growth & Structure of Cities and has an MA from New York University in Studio Arts/Photography. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband Mike and six-year old twins, Max & Luca.

Barbara Kane: Former Vice President of Industry Relations at Ecolab Barbara Kane recently retired as the Vice President of Industry Relations for Ecolab Inc., the world’s leading provider of cleaning, food safety and health protection products and services.

Barbara Kane has over 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Most recently she held the position on Vice President Industry Relations at Ecolab, where she represented Ecolab cross divisionally with all trade associations in the areas of foodservice, hospitality, healthcare, government, education, and manufacturing. Previously she held the role of AVP Global Accounts at Ecolab and was a corporate account manager with Sara Lee Coffee and Tea.

Kane serves on many Industry Association Board of Directors, and also serves on advisory boards for University of Nevada Las Vegas and San Diego State University. Kane frequently keynotes to Associations and Corporations on topics ranging from food safety to women in business.

Kane graduated with honors and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from University of Arizona. She currently resides in the New York City area.

Zee Shami: Culinarian and Owner of Zee the Cook Zee Shami is the Owner of ZeeTheCook Culinary Studio in Metro Detroit, a school offering cooking and baking instruction to kids, teens and adults. Zee and her team host in-person and virtual Corporate Team-Building Workshops, Private Cooking Parties, and other Recreational Life-Skills Services.

ZeeTheCook is also a licensed Vocational School in the State of Michigan offering Certifications in Hospitality Management, Culinary Fundamentals, and NRF Customer Service + Sales. Zee is nationally recognized as a Rising Star through the Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management and the proud recipient of the 2020 Director's Award for Community Service, as well as the recipient of the Woman in Business Award (Henry Ford College) and Start up Business/Entrepreneur of The Year Award through the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce.

Shayla Martin: Senior Sales Executive with GrubHub Shayla is a Sr. Sales Executive at GrubHub on their Campus Team. She attended Auburn University and received her Bachelor of Art in Psychology. In 2011 she received her MBA in Sustainability from Valparaiso University. Shayla is a breast cancer survivor and the journey taught her all the life lessons we’ve all heard about. This led her to join the Leadership Council for The Pink Agenda, a Breast Cancer Research Foundation organization dedicated to raising money for research. Life has taken her to many cities, but she calls New York City home.

The Buzz is a video and podcast thought leadership series. Follow the podcast below to get notified when the full episode releases and make sure to keep up with us on social media for exclusive clips leading up to release day!