Why This Software Company Founder Ended Up Changing His Mind and Joining Chick-fil-A, Inc.

When Corregan Brown accepted an interview with Chick-fil-A, Inc., he thought he was just being polite.

As a tech consultant, Brown thought of the quick-service restaurant company as the best client he had ever had. After 20 years as a contractor and previous experience as the owner of a software company, Brown felt convinced he’d never go back to being an employee. Why trade in the flexibility he enjoyed for office politics? Plus, he felt certain any compensation package offer was unlikely to measure up.

But the more Brown learned in the interview process, and the more he thought about how much he’d enjoyed working with Chick-fil-A in his time as a contractor, the clearer his choice became.

“There are multiple companies where I could work on big problems — but getting to work on big problems in an environment like this is what convinced me,” he says. “Chick-fil-A has far and away the kindest group of people I've ever worked with. At the same time, they are opinionated. They are smart. We are challenging each other and solving problems — and we're doing it in a way that honors each other's humanity.”

And in one key area, Brown was pleasantly surprised.

“Honestly, the details of the offer weren’t what I was expecting,” he says. “The compensation package is competitive with anybody across the tech industry.”

Brown started as the engineering lead for a program responsible for building a next-generation commerce framework for thousands of Chick-fil-A restaurants. He harmonizes the work of teams pursuing goals including redesigning point-of-sale technology, adapting tech for international restaurants and rethinking the screens team members use in the kitchen.?

Among the most interesting challenges that Brown and his team are tackling: helping restaurants and sales points use distributed data technology to share information and complete orders even when the Internet or Wi-Fi is not available. They’re also working to gather and act on telemetry from the stores to rapidly meet the exact level and type of customer demands, moment by moment.

Now, as director of engineering for all Restaurant Experience systems, Brown has a broader purview, helping to solve challenges with digital customer-facing restaurant solutions such as digital menu boards.

What’s most exciting for him in this role is the opportunity to coach the next generation of leaders. “I want to help people do their best work, with joy,” he says.

Just as rewarding is the opportunity for him to visit restaurants and witness the direct impact of the systems his organization builds.

“It’s special to work on these solutions on a whiteboard or in the lab, and then go to the stores and see them come to life. The jobs of franchisee Operators and restaurant team members get easier and more fun because of what we do,” he says.

Brown has been pleasantly surprised to discover that his role offers a kind of flexibility he didn’t experience as a business owner and contractor: He now works fewer hours each week and takes time off following occasional busy periods.

And as for his fears about office politics? Brown says they were unfounded.

“Chick-fil-A is one of the most solution-oriented and least political organizations I've worked at,” Brown says now. “People here are low ego, high responsibility. They listen to ideas and change their minds. People here don't do a ton of jockeying for position. We gain influence here by living out our values and earning our colleagues’ trust.”

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