WFF, Deloitte unveil sponsorship model at group’s annual summit

Deloitte research company principal Karen Bowman unveiled a groundbreaking sponsorship model to executives at the 11th annual Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) Executive Summit in Chicago IL recently.
WFF is the premier leadership development organization in the nation’s third-largest industry sector: foodservice/hospitality. The research, sponsored by Darden, will help executives to create and improve effective sponsorship models within their organizations.
“Our Sponsorship Maturity Model is the first of its kind to clearly articulate the strength of an additional layer to setting leaders up for success: the sponsor—protégé relationship,” said Fritzi Woods, WFF president and chief executive officer. “Data now confirms that sponsorship is a catalyst for advancing leaders.”
Bowman’s presentation, “Leveraging the Sponsorship Dynamic to Build Stronger Leaders,” included an introduction to a Sponsorship Maturity Map and shared strategies for organizations to use the map to improve sponsorship dynamics. Content was based on previous Deloitte research as well as interviews with WFF partner organizations.
WFF’s newly launched blog, Advancing Women Leaders, will feature discussion and engagement around the research. The group will continually release highlights of the research and invite executives to review and apply findings to their own organizations.
Darden, sponsor of the research, is a leading full-service restaurant company that employs more than 200,000 people.
WFF, based in Dallas TX, has more than 3,500 active members, 200-plus partner companies, and annually engages more than 20,000 foodservice industry leaders via its programs and leadership development platforms.
To learn more about WFF, visit www.wff.org.