From Hot Wings to Hot Buns to Clean Greens: How Kat Cole Went from Hooters Waitress to Billion-Dollar Brand Mogul

Kat Cole's story sounds like something out of a business school fable—except it's entirely real. As a teenager in Jacksonville, Florida, she took a part-time job at Hooters to help her single mom make ends meet. By 19, she was traveling the world opening international franchises. By 26, she was an executive vice president. And by her early 30s, she was running Cinnabon, a brand that now pulls in over $1 billion in annual global sales. All this—before she ever earned a college degree.

It's a story of grit, branding genius, and saying yes to big opportunities, even if you have to get a passport first.

Early Life and Hooters Ascent

Katrina "Kat" Cole was born March 18, 1978, in Oceanway, Florida, and raised in nearby Orange Park, a suburb of Jacksonville. When Kat was just nine, her mother left her alcoholic husband and became a single parent to three daughters. Despite working multiple jobs, the family often lived on just $10 a week for groceries.

Kat started working as soon as she could—at The Body Shop and clothing stores—before being hired as a hostess at a local Hooters at age 16. She quickly stood out. She became a waitress, bartender, and cook. When someone didn't show up for a shift, Kat jumped in. When a manager quit, she stepped up.

At 19, with zero international experience and never having flown on a plane, Kat was asked to help open the first Hooters in Australia. Ten days after returning, she was sent to Central America. Then Asia. Then Canada, South America, and South Africa. By age 20, she had helped launch new restaurants on nearly every continent outside North America.

Her meteoric rise continued. Kat dropped out of the University of North Florida, where she had been studying engineering, to focus on Hooters full-time. By age 26, she was named Vice President of Training and Development. Over her 16-year career with the company, she helped expand Hooters from around 100 restaurants generating $300 million in revenue to over 500 restaurants generating $1 billion.

From Hooters to Cinnabon

In 2010, Kat was tapped to become president of Cinnabon at age 32. Despite never finishing undergrad, she was also accepted into Georgia State University's MBA program thanks to letters of recommendation from business leaders, including Ted Turner.

When Cole took over Cinnabon, the brand was generating an estimated $350 million in annual sales, with most of its footprint in malls and airports. She immediately got to work scaling the business. Over the next three years, she added 200 new locations, expanded into 56 countries, and struck major licensing deals to get Cinnabon products into grocery stores and fast food giants like Taco Bell and Burger King.

She embraced the company's indulgent image rather than try to rebrand it as something more virtuous. "We are proud [that] we are an indulgence," she told The New York Post in 2013. "We're a premium product and so over-the-top indulgent that we stay special."

By 2013, Cinnabon's annual sales had topped $1 billion.

Kat Cole's business philosophy blends hustle with self-awareness. She's known for doing unglamorous tasks like digging through restaurant trash to figure out what customers throw away—clues to what isn't working. And she's publicly told customers not to eat Cinnabon every day: "Please don't eat it every day, but man, when you're in the rare mood to be bad, come to us."

She practices what she calls the "hotshot rule"—each month, she asks herself: If a hotshot took over my job today, what's the first thing they would fix that I've been tolerating?

In 2017, she was promoted to President and COO of Focus Brands North America, overseeing not just Cinnabon but Auntie Anne's, Moe's Southwest Grill, Carvel, Schlotzsky's, and more.

(Via Getty)

Grounded by Her Roots

Cole often credits her mother, who worked multiple jobs to support three daughters, as her leadership role model. Even as she climbed the corporate ladder, her mother reminded her to stay grounded. Every year, her birthday card included a version of the same message: "Don't forget where you came from, but don't you dare let it solely define you."

Cole says that upbringing shaped how she thinks about leadership, opportunity, and even hot-button issues like the minimum wage. She acknowledges the tough margins franchisees face but believes businesses should always act with care and conscience.

AG1 and the Next Chapter

In 2021, Kat Cole joined AG1, the nutritional supplement brand formerly known as Athletic Greens, as President and COO. The opportunity came after the company's founder, Chris Ashenden, heard her on The Pomp Podcast and reached out directly. Three years later, in July 2024, Cole was promoted to CEO.

Her move to AG1 marks a shift from indulgent brands to the wellness world—but the core of her leadership philosophy hasn't changed: build with purpose, scale with discipline, and stay close to the customer.

Kat Cole's career is proof that the corner office isn't reserved for those who follow a traditional path. She's built billion-dollar brands without a college degree, earned an MBA by convincing business titans to vouch for her, and led with empathy and hustle every step of the way. Whether she's serving cinnamon rolls or green powder, Cole doesn't shy away from what makes a product—or a person—unique. Her message is clear: own your story, bet on your work ethic, and never forget where you came from… but don't let it limit where you're going.