David Salyers

David Salyers was one of the original two marketing executives at Chick-fil-A. He spent 37 years in the Chick-fil-A Marketing Department and most recently served as a Vice President before his recent retirement. Having worked at Chick-fil-A his entire career, he saw the principles of servant leadership and compassion play out in the growth of more than 2,300 Chick-fil-A restaurants around the country. Chick-fil-A, one of America's most successful, powerful and beloved brands, is a multi-billion dollar company built almost entirely on culture. Chick-fil-A has experienced over 50 consecutive years of sales growth and is at, or near, the top rankings of U.S. brands across all sectors. David has invested his entire career working in and helping to build a culture only to be described as remarkable.

Having graduated from college on a Saturday morning, David started his career with Chick-fil-A before the day was over. David started in Chick-fil-A's training program on his graduation day in 1981, whose headquarters was located in a converted air freight warehouse at that time. "Talk about getting in on the ground floor," says David. "I've held so many jobs at Chick-fil-A that I can't count them all . . . and no job that I've held had ever been done before I did it. When I started at Chick-fil-A, we had a two-person marketing department. Today, we have more than 200 people in our marketing department, we have a 97 percent retention with people we hire throughout the company — and we'll do $10 billion in sales this year."

Over the course of 20+ years, David was instrumental in the growth and development of the iconic 'cow campaign' at Chick-fil-A and helped champion a marketing department that rose to international prominence and prestige. David is known for his marketing mind, his servant's heart, and his entrepreneurial spirit.