Chili’s CEO, pt 1: Kevin Hochman on the leadership traits necessary for business success
Take-Away with Sam Oches
Nation's Restaurant News
4.9 • 17 Ratings
🗓️ 31 March 2026
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Kevin Hochman, president and CEO of Brinker International, parent company to Chili’s Grill & Bar. Chili’s has been the buzziest restaurant chain of the past two or three years, having recorded 19 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth with help from value deals like its $10.99 3 for Me and viral videos like its mozzarella stick cheese pull. That success took off when Kevin joined Brinker in 2022 and implemented a turnaround plan that focused first on operational improvements and then on effective marketing to drive customers into the newly improved stores. Sam recently sat down with Kevin in a Dallas area Chili’s for an episode of the Signature Series, powered by The Coca-Cola Company; this is part one of that interview, where they cover Kevin’s career in the lead-up to Chili’s and in particular the lessons that he picked up working for two iconic American institutions: Procter & Gamble and Yum Brands. Next week we’ll share part two, where they get in the weeds on how Kevin and his team have transformed Chili’s into the hottest thing going in foodservice.
In this conversation, you’ll find out why:
- You’re never a finished product
- Clear communication is critical to executing with excellence
- The answers are in the room, you just have to listen and ask the right questions
- Brands have a DNA and personality that you can’t lose sight of
- If you do the right thing for the business, no matter the ROI, you’ll win in the long term
Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at sam.oches@informa.com.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Takeaway with Sam Okas, a podcast for leaders of growing restaurant companies looking |
| 0:05.2 | to take their businesses to the next level. |
| 0:07.9 | In nearly two decades covering restaurants, I've gained access to some of this industry's |
| 0:11.5 | most influential decision makers, and I'm letting you in on the conversations. |
| 0:16.1 | In today's episode, you'll hear from the CEO of the hottest restaurant chain in America |
| 0:20.7 | about the key leadership |
| 0:21.9 | traits that he has developed throughout his career and about why communication with your team |
| 0:27.2 | is the foundation of all of your potential success. Kevin Hockman is the president and CEO of Brinker |
| 0:33.8 | International parent company to Chili's Grill and Bar. You probably already know that |
| 0:38.9 | Chili's has been the busiest restaurant chain of the past two or three years, having recorded |
| 0:43.5 | 19 consecutive quarters of same store sales growth with help from value deals like it's 10993 |
| 0:50.8 | for me and viral videos like its mozzarella stick cheese pull. That success really took |
| 0:56.9 | off when Kevin joined Brinker in 2022 and implemented a turnaround plan that focused first on |
| 1:03.7 | operational improvements and then on effective marketing to drive customers into the newly |
| 1:09.1 | improved stores. That turnaround plan worked better than anyone |
| 1:13.1 | could have ever imagined, and Chili's has posted unprecedented growth ever since. I recently sat down |
| 1:19.9 | with Kevin in a Dallas area Chili's for an episode of The Signature Series, powered by Coca-Cola |
| 1:25.3 | Company, and we spent nearly two hours digging into the |
| 1:28.7 | blueprint for Chili's Turnaround. This is part one of that interview where we will cover Kevin's |
| 1:34.2 | career in the lead-up to Chili's, and in particular the lessons that he picked up working for |
| 1:39.2 | two of the most iconic American institutions, Proctor and Gamble and Yum Brands. |
| 1:45.0 | Next week, we will share part two of this interview where we will get into the weeds |
... |
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