Stephanie Stuckey of Stuckey’s Speaks at the Forum for Executive Women
- Keywords:
- women in business
- leadership
December 05, 2022
|
Business Strategy
At our 9th annual Forum for Executive Women in Chicago, Illinois, we featured a panel of female C-level leaders to discuss how they navigated the successes and challenges of building their business and careers.
This year's theme focused on “Purpose, Ambition, and Success.” It was our pleasure to welcome Stephanie Stuckey, CEO of Stuckey's Corporation, a roadside convenience store chain in the southeast, southwest and midwest of the United States, known for its world-famous pecans, candy and souvenirs.
Watch this video to hear about the milestones along Stephanie’s professional journey and how she navigated the opportunities, risks, and achievements along the way.
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SLIDE: BMO Forum for Executive Women Presents Stephanie Stuckey, CEO of Stuckey’s Corporation
SLIDE: Discovering Opportunity
Stephanie Stuckey:
I was put on this world to sell pecan log rolls and rubber alligators and make road trips fun. And that's my mission.
And I figured that out later. So, I think it's never too late to know what is really your passion. And along the way, everything I did helped get me to this point.
I was a public defender for ten years in Atlanta, Georgia. And I thought: This is so unjust, and I am going to run for the Georgia State House.
I discovered another passion when I got there, because my district was very active in environmental issues.
So, I was on the Natural Resources Committee for 14 years, really became an advocate for the environment. And I ran an environmental nonprofit law firm.
And then the mayor of Atlanta called me and he said: Quit suing Georgia Power. Come work for the city of Atlanta. We're going to do great things.
And so, I was with the city of Atlanta for three and a half years. Happy in my little green bubble when I literally got a call from the investment firm that had bought my grandfather's company and said: Hey, Stephanie, do you want to buy Stuckey’s?
SLIDE: Taking Risks
Stephanie Stuckey:
I invested my life savings. What I bought was a business in distress, six figures in debt. We had no assets.
And I quickly realized I had to change our business model. We no longer owned or operated any of the stores. We only had 68 of them still standing. The franchise agreements were out of compliance with federal law. I had to renegotiate the models’ licensing deals, and I had to figure out how are we going to make money?
And we went into consumer products and I got a business partner. And we bought a manufacturing facility; we bought a pecan shelling plant, a fundraising business and a candy business; and we went from being six figures in debt to we closed out last year almost $13 million gross sales.
SLIDE: Achieving Success
Stephanie Stuckey:
So, my ambition comes from investing my life savings at age 53. Also, I think you have to have a higher purpose, right?
And so, when I first bought Stuckey’s and I brought in my business partner, I said: We're going to figure out our “why.” It cannot be to make money. It's got to be bigger than that.
And I said: Our brand is about the road trip. We're making road trips fun again.
I will close on this because I think it aligns with the values, right?
In the 1950s and sixties, when the South especially was very segregated and Jim Crow laws were in effect, there were very few places on the road where African Americans could travel and pull over, because it was whites only.
Stuckey’s was never segregated. And so, I was running in the black district, and I'll never forget that black minister backed me, and I was shocked.
Is that my position on housing and health care? And he's like: No, it's none of that. Your grandfather was good to us. So, if you are values aligned, if you are purpose aligned, if you do the right thing, it's not just like your present. It's like two or three generations later, it's still going to be there.
SLIDE: BMO Forum for Executive Women
At our 9th annual Forum for Executive Women in Chicago, Illinois, we featured a panel of female C-level leaders to discuss how they navigated the successes and challenges of building their business and careers.
This year's theme focused on “Purpose, Ambition, and Success.” It was our pleasure to welcome Stephanie Stuckey, CEO of Stuckey's Corporation, a roadside convenience store chain in the southeast, southwest and midwest of the United States, known for its world-famous pecans, candy and souvenirs.
Watch this video to hear about the milestones along Stephanie’s professional journey and how she navigated the opportunities, risks, and achievements along the way.
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