Kim Malek

Co-Founder & CEO at Salt & Straw

Speaker

A business industry leader and innovator, Kim Malek is the CEO and Co-Founder along with her cousin Tyler Malek of the Portland-based Salt & Straw ice cream. Since founding the company in 2011, Kim has built Salt & Straw from a humble ice cream cart into a fast-growing company with locations across seven states. While Salt & Straw continues to thoughtfully expand, Kim has ensured the business stays true to its core ethos of being a family-run company crafting artisan ice cream with locally sourced flavors, and serving and supporting the communities it operates in. Kim also plays an instrumental role in Salt & Straw’s community charity initiatives, championing causes such as combating childhood hunger and food waste, while fostering a positive and rewarding internal business culture for her more than 1,200 employees.

Prior to launching Salt & Straw, Kim held positions at Starbucks Coffee, Yahoo!, Adidas and Gardenburger, specializing in marketing, community outreach, and product management and global innovation. She also worked with Bono of U2 on (RED), which raises money and awareness for global health crises, and with Seattle’s Cupcake Royale, specializing in retail marketing and bringing new epicurean trends to market.

Kim has been featured in Entrepreneur and Forbes, among many others. She has been recognized by Basic Rights Oregon as an Equality Advocate Honoree and has received the Portland Business Journal’s 2023 Executives of the Year award. Kim has also been named to Inc Magazine’s 100 Female Founders list of entrepreneurs, the Cherry Bombe 100 list featuring female leaders in the culinary space, and Nation’s Restaurant News’ Power List.

Kim lives in Portland with her partner, three children and two dogs.