Chief Marketing Officer of US, Wendys
Search every verified Lindsay Radkoski interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Lindsay Radkoski, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Wendy's in the U.S., has discussed the company's approach to engaging with customers through emerging platforms and brand positioning. In a September 2023 interview, Radkoski stated that Wendy's enters spaces like the metaverse based on its brand positioning of "having our customers' backs" and forming relationships, adding, "If our fans are going to be there, we want to be there too." She noted that the company studies platforms before entering them to understand audience dynamics, and said that younger generations "can sniff out like corporate stuffy brand sponsor," requiring authentic engagement. Radkoski also said that customer expectations for speed and accuracy have "never been higher" due to a culture of instant gratification. Radkoski has also spoken about her leadership philosophy and career experiences. She described herself as a marketer who knows her way around a P&L, stating, "We're all in business to make money, and I love connecting what we do with customers to how we make money." She cited the death of a senior leader as a pivotal moment that deepened her loyalty to Wendy's and inspired a personal mantra of leaving things "better than I found them." Radkoski noted that she started a women's employee resource group at Wendy's, which has grown to over a hundred members, and emphasized the importance of diverse perspectives and tough conversations in team execution. She received the Change Maker award from the Women's Foodservice Forum in 2019.
“I'm a marketer who knows my way around a P&L and that is a superpower in many ways. We're all in business to make money, and I love connecting what we do with customers to how we make money. We don't make money unless a customer takes a different action than they did today.”
“I have a great rapport with our finance group today. The tighter we can be, the more we can do together. It's all about growing the business and getting consumers to love us even more than they do today.”
“One of the biggest moments in my career was when a senior leader I worked with passed away. It made me realize there's so much more to life and purpose than just our job. It deepened my loyalty to Wendy's and inspired me to leave things better than I found them.”
“I started a women's employee resource group at Wendy's because there weren't many women in senior leadership. Now we have over a hundred members and seven employee resource groups, each sponsored by senior leaders. It's about creating a safe, transparent place where people can grow and learn.”
“I would advise anyone starting out to be convicted in their vision and purpose but also stay open to new experiences. Relationships and collaboration are invaluable, and you need people who will build you up and also call you out when needed.”
“People often get wrong that I am tough and tender at the same time. I start relationships by getting to know people personally, but I am also very competitive, results-driven, and focused on achieving business outcomes.”
“At Wendy's, we say 'turn our fans into friends.' Unlike a one-way fan relationship, we want a two-way relationship with our customers, making them feel connected and loved by the brand.”
“The nostalgia around Wendy's Frosty and the collaboration with T-Pain was magical. It connects memories from the past with new fans today, showing the power of combining food and music nostalgia.”
“If our fans are going to be there, we want to be there too and be participating with them and enhancing The Experience.”
“We really bring everything back to our brand positioning which is all about having our customers' backs, forming a relationship with them, getting to know them then meeting their needs as a restaurant brand or service or experience brand.”
“We've seen time and time again that our fans reward us for showing up in real and authentic ways both in how they engage with our content on these platforms but then in how they visit the restaurant as well.”
“This group, some of the younger generations, they can sniff out like corporate stuffy brand sponsor or somebody who's just paying to have access to fans instantly, so for us it's all about observing, spending time to understand an audience before we go into an environment.”
“Customer expectations have never been higher because they've been raised in a world of instant gratification; everything's at your fingertips whether it's information, an Uber ride, or DoorDash delivery.”
“In my position at Wendy's, I get to be in the very center of all of our decisions around products, pricing, promotion, and the marketing calendar, so I'm in a great place to be able to impact business growth directly.”
“One of the things that I've been able to do is make sure that we have a diverse perspective in all of our conversations, that we're challenging each other to get to the best place, having tough conversations but ultimately aligning and moving forward to execute as a team.”
"I can't do this. People in my position with the workload I have, my kids, there's no possible way, and then I reminded myself, no, ...
Lindsay Radkoski, Wendy's VP of national marketing, talks with Nation's Restaurant News digital editor Holly Petre about the ...
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