What if the leaders who seem most confident are fighting the same self-doubt as everyone else?

Kelly MacPherson has led technology and transformation at some of hospitality's most recognizable companies, including Restaurant Brands International and Union Square Hospitality Group. But behind the commanding presence was a very different internal conversation.

In this deeply personal episode of The ChatGTM Podcast, Michael Beck and Chad Horn reconnect with Kelly to explore her new book, Becoming Anyway, and the experiences that shaped the leader, mother, and person she's become.

Kelly shares what it was like to build a technology career without a traditional technology background, take opportunities before she felt qualified, and discover that professional success doesn't eliminate personal insecurity.

We explore the difficult decisions, mistakes, and sacrifices that rarely make it into executive biographies. From balancing motherhood with an ambitious career to learning when perseverance becomes staying too long, Kelly offers a refreshingly human perspective on leadership.

We also get into the future of restaurant technology, why Kelly believes dashboards are failing operators, and how AI could finally deliver personalized, actionable insights instead of more reports.

In this conversation:

• Why confidence and self-doubt can exist at the same time
• Taking career opportunities before you feel ready
• The personal cost of professional ambition
• Knowing when to persevere and when to walk away
• Why trust and team chemistry matter more than individual brilliance
• The leadership lessons Kelly learned from motherhood
• Why restaurant technology needs to rethink business processes
• The meaning behind Becoming Anyway

CONNECT WITH KELLY

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-ann-macpherson-2aa8037/

Book: Becoming Anyway
https://becominganywaybook.com

Podcast: Becoming Anyway, with Kelly and Lauren

EPISODE CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome to ChatGTM and reconnecting with Kelly
03:04 Why Kelly wrote Becoming Anyway
05:18 The confidence people see versus the doubt inside
08:52 The hardest stories to share publicly
11:37 Taking opportunities before feeling ready
14:44 The decisions that changed Kelly's career
17:24 Earning respect and establishing leadership presence
19:12 Why trust matters more than technical brilliance
21:03 Knowing when to walk away
23:01 Perseverance versus staying too long
26:23 The stories Kelly nearly left out
28:13 Motherhood and seeing life through Lauren's eyes
29:32 How writing the book changed family conversations
33:53 What restaurant technology leaders are getting wrong
35:04 Why dashboards aren't solving the real problem
38:35 Giving restaurant managers their time back
40:36 Learning to forgive your younger self
42:06 What Becoming Anyway really means
43:19 Seven rapid-fire questions
45:01 Where to find Kelly and her book
46:19 Final reflections and random acts of kindness

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Have you ever taken a professional leap before you felt ready, or stayed somewhere longer than you should have?

Tell us in the comments.

Subscribe to The ChatGTM Podcast for candid conversations with the leaders, builders, and thinkers shaping hospitality, restaurant technology, and the future of business.

Website: https://www.chatgtmpodcast.com

The ChatGTM Podcast | The Industry, Unscripted.

#KellyMacPherson #BecomingAnyway #Leadership #SelfDoubt #WomenInLeadership #HospitalityLeadership #ChatGTM

What if your restaurant's back office could practically run itself?

For decades, restaurant technology has been great at telling operators what happened yesterday. But what if it could anticipate tomorrow, recommend the right actions today, and give operators back their most valuable resource?

Time.

Live from FSTEC 2026, ChatGTM host Michael Beck sits down with David Cantu, CEO of Craftable, and Matt Sunberg, Head of Product, to explore their vision for the fully autonomous restaurant back office.

And we're not talking about another AI chatbot bolted onto legacy software.

Craftable is reimagining how restaurants manage inventory, purchasing, forecasting, prep production, labor, and profitability by embedding AI directly into everyday operational workflows.

IN THIS EPISODE:

🔹 The Autonomous Restaurant: Moving beyond dashboards and reactive reporting toward intelligent, proactive operations.
🔹 AI With Purpose: Why technology should simplify work instead of creating more of it.
🔹 Finding Hidden Margins: Identifying operational waste beyond traditional food and labor costs.
🔹 Solving the Adoption Problem: Why intuitive design matters as much as functionality.
🔹 The Vibe-Coding Debate: Just because AI can build software doesn't mean it should run your restaurant.
🔹 Protecting Your Data: The importance of security and responsible AI architecture.
🔹 Giving Time Back: Helping operators spend less time managing systems and more time leading people.

Matt shares a powerful story about a customer who told him:

"You saved my nights and weekends."

That's what great technology should accomplish.

Not more dashboards. Not more reports. Not more complexity.

More time for the things that matter.

MEET OUR GUESTS

David Cantu | CEO, Craftable
Matt Sunberg | Head of Product, Craftable

🌐 https://www.craftable.com

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome to FSTEC
01:53 Meet David Cantu & Matt Sunberg
03:53 Their Journeys into Restaurant Tech
06:19 Reinventing the Back Office
08:45 The Autonomous Restaurant Vision
11:11 Building AI Around Operators
13:27 Solving Technology Adoption
15:43 Designing for Simplicity
17:37 Where Does the ROI Come From?
19:55 Finding Hidden Margin Leakage
22:22 Restaurant Industry Pressures
24:38 The Vibe-Coding Debate
27:00 AI Security & Data Protection
29:22 Integrations & Restaurant-Specific AI
31:28 Connecting Operations & Guest Experience
33:54 Giving Operators Their Time Back
36:00 Closing Thoughts

ABOUT CHATGTM

Hosted by Michael Beck and Chad Horn, ChatGTM brings you unscripted conversations with the people shaping the future of hospitality, restaurant technology, and business.

The Industry, Unscripted.

🌐 https://chatgtmpodcast.com

Subscribe and join the conversation.

#ChatGTMPodcast #Craftable #RestaurantTechnology #RestaurantAI #FSTEC #HospitalityTechnology #RestaurantOperations

What if your digital menu board is doing little more than displaying a prettier version of your printed menu?

Jackie Walker, Chief Experience Officer at Creative Realities, joins Michael Beck on ChatGTM to explain why digital signage is about much more than screens. It's about understanding customers, influencing decisions, and creating experiences that people genuinely crave.

Drawing on her work with major QSR brands, Jackie explores the science of craveability, contextual merchandising, customer empathy, and the untapped potential of digital menu boards.

We dig into why the initial excitement around digital signage can fade, how brands can use motion, color, dayparting, and data to improve their merchandising, and why testing and learning should be part of an ongoing performance marketing strategy.

Jackie also introduces Experience Intelligence, the consulting and creative capabilities within Creative Realities, and previews her Prosper Accelerate think tank session on reimagining the menu experience.

And as AI takes on more of the creative process, what remains uniquely human? Jackie has some strong opinions about judgment, restraint, and why technology should never come before the customer.

CONNECT WITH JACKIE

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackieohare/

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome and the power of craveability
02:38 Jackie's journey into digital experiences
06:26 Where Creative Realities operates
08:04 What makes an experience craveable?
09:42 Why contextual content matters
13:00 Personalization versus creepy
15:15 Designing for the customer's moment
16:21 Why restaurants need more than a digital menu
19:45 Motion, merchandising, and dayparting
21:24 Why digital menus need continuous testing
23:55 Adoption and franchisee challenges
24:46 Why the initial sales lift can disappear
26:15 Inside CRI's Experience Intelligence team
29:57 Jackie's Prosper Accelerate preview
32:37 The entire customer journey matters
33:48 AI, creativity, and human judgment
35:08 Jackie's legacy and making magic
36:14 Rapid fire: experience and surprise
37:19 Why the food in the bag matters most
38:33 Taco Bell and cultural relevance
40:41 Human connection versus technology
41:22 The surprising power of color
42:45 Prosper Accelerate and final takeaways
45:32 Jackie's colorful sign-off

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Are your digital menu boards simply displaying products, or are they actively helping customers make better decisions?

Subscribe for more conversations with the people shaping hospitality, restaurant technology, and the customer experience.

ChatGTM: The Industry, Unscripted.

#JackieWalker #CreativeRealities #DigitalMenuBoards #DigitalSignage #Craveability #RestaurantTechnology #ChatGTM