Best Track Record: Jane Miller, CEO, Rudi’s Rocky Mountain Bakery
🏃♀️➡️ Best Track Record: Jane Miller, CEO, Rudi’s Rocky Mountain Bakery
Jane Miller is described by a colleague as an “orchestra conductor” – a nod to her ability to “motivate and inspire those around her to create a symphony of success.” In the two years since reprising her role as chief executive of Rudi’s Rocky Mountain Bakery, the business is back in tune and hitting some high notes.
Under her leadership, sales have increased more than 20%, reversing a multiyear decline, and the brand has expanded into the frozen foods aisle with the addition of three new product lines. Previously, she accepted the handoff from Lily’s Sweets founder Cynthia Tice to take the company to the end zone: during her three years at the helm the brand grew from $18 million to more than $100 million in revenue and was sold to The Hershey Company for $425 million.
In addition to her impressive business acumen and pedigree – with more than four decades of food and beverage experience spanning startups to major multinationals – she is celebrated for her mentorship and philanthropic efforts. Recently, she established the Jane Knows Scholarship Fund at the University of Colorado’s Leeds Business School to support first-generation college students.