Michael Walkup

Chick-fil-A Operator, CPA at Chick-fil-A

Speaker

Michael Walkup is a Chick-fil-A Operator, Certified Public Accountant, and multi-restaurant leader with more than 12 years of experience leading high-volume restaurant operations. He brings a firsthand operator perspective to the challenges facing today’s foodservice industry, including labor constraints, rising costs, food safety, operational consistency, and the increasing complexity of running successful restaurants.Throughout his career, Michael has focused on finding practical ways to simplify restaurant operations and equip frontline teams to execute at a high level. He has helped more than 25 Chick-fil-A restaurants navigate growth, relocation, and multi-restaurant operating transitions and has served in a variety of Chick-fil-A leadership roles, including Operator Coach and Guardian of the Brand for food safety.Michael has been recognized by Chick-fil-A for both sales growth and profitability, earning the Symbol of Success and Champion’s Club awards for three consecutive years. A key component of his restaurants’ operating systems during this period was the use of the technology that has evolved into Ecolab’s KitchenIQ platform, giving Michael firsthand experience with how digital tools can improve execution, accountability, consistency, and restaurant performance.Michael also serves as the Chick-fil-A Licensee Consultant for Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital and as the Chick-fil-A Licensee Consultant for DFW Airport locations, bringing experience across traditional restaurant operations as well as complex, high-volume environments.As a CPA and operator, Michael brings a unique perspective to the intersection of technology, operations, and financial performance. He is particularly passionate about solutions that reduce complexity for frontline teams while delivering measurable improvements in food safety, operational execution, labor efficiency, and profitability.