Jane Grote Abell, the current CEO of Donatos Pizza, will be speaking at Capital University’s commencement this spring.
On May 7, Abell will take the stage not only to address the graduating class, but also to receive an honorary degree from the university. She is expected to bring along great insight and inspirational words for the class of 2016.
Abell graduated from the Ohio State University with a degree in organizational communication. Since earning her degree, Abell has held a variety of positions at both Donatos and Jane’s Dough Foods, Donatos’ food service commissary operations. She has served in positions such as chief people officer, senior vice president of development, and president and chief operating officer.
As current chairwoman of the board for Donatos, Abell is heavily focused on the chain’s mission of promoting goodwill through product, service, principles, and people.
Donatos has a strong focus on community outreach. Within one year alone, the company provided more than $130,000 in monetary and in-kind donations to more than 600 nonprofits and charitable organizations across central Ohio.
Outside of her four decades worth of work with Donatos and Jane’s Dough Foods, Abell has found several other ways to stay involved in the community. She founded the Reeb Avenue Center, a social-services center that houses 13 non-profits that focus on education and workforce development.
“This Community Center opened last fall and is a social services hub, providing services like job training, children’s programming, community meals and addiction recovery,” said associate professor of business Dr. Keirsten Moore. “I can see lots of opportunities for Capital to partner with this initiative through social service projects and service learning opportunities in a wide range of classes.”
In addition to this, Abell is also a member of the American Heart Association Go Red for Women and the co-chair for the 2015-2016 Go Red Campaign alongside her husband, Tom Krouse. She is the founding member of the Ross Leadership Institute and serves on the Otterbien Women’s Leadership Advisory Council. She participates on the board of directors for Reeb Avenue Center, Experience Columbus, Action for Children, and I Know I Can.
Capital faculty first took notice of Abell and her success in 2014.
“[Abell] is self-aware and genuine, she leads with both her heart and her mind, she acts in ways and encourages others to act in ways that are consistent with their value system, and she motivates people to achieve higher levels of performance by developing trust and a collective culture of caring and values-centeredness,” Moore said.
In the fall of 2014, Bowman, Moore, and several others represented Capital at the annual banquet. It was then that Bowman learned about Abell and the charitable work done by her and the company.
“When she received the award, she got up and made the greatest speech,” President Bowman said. “I thought, we need to keep talking with her.”
After two years of getting to know her better, Capital’s faculty and Board of Trustees have chosen her to be a part of the class of 2016’s big day. President Bowman, faculty, and students alike feel she will add something special to the event.
“I think that what Jane Grote Abell will bring to Capital’s class of 2016 is this great example of authentic leadership,” Dr. Moore said. “I think what Jane models is that you can be a highly effective leader by being authentic, genuine, and living your values. And that a key to effective leadership is establishing genuine relationships with followers and community members built on trust.”
Some seniors themselves are also looking forward to her commencement speech.
“I have a feeling she will have a lot to contribute to our big day,” said graduating senior Christin Koosman. “From what I’ve read about her, she definitely brings it with her service-oriented mindset and is very successful.”
Not only has Abell received the title of Columbus CEO of the Year, but she was also named to the YWCA Columbus Academy of Women of Achievement in 2014 as one of 237 women honored since 1986. Franchise Magazine listed her as once of the Top 24 Women in Franchising.
Abell was featured in the CBS series Undercover Boss, where she disguised herself and went undercover in Donatos restaurants. She also released a book in 2015 entitled, THE MISSING PIECE: Doing Business the Donatos Way.
In May, Abell will be able to add her honorary degree and time spent at Capital to her long list of achievements. Her commencement speech is expected to be one that inspires and motivates the class of 2016 to lead and achieve greatness.
