A Terry degree gets jobs at lots of places.
Like Wendy’s.
In 1977, Chris Elliott took a management job at an Athens Wendy’s. Before graduation, he’d burned the midnight oil eight straight quarters… and burned through his finances. He needed money.
“I got teased about getting a college degree to work in a fast-food restaurant,” Elliott remembers. “But I liked the pace and the challenges, and I really liked managing people.”
Wendy’s liked him. Within 18 months, Elliott (BBA ’77) was a district manager with a company car. He pulled down $18,000 in 1978 — about $90,000 today.
Elliott went on to serve 15 years at Pizza Hut, rising to senior director of operations over 448 restaurants in the Florida division. He subsequently held top positions at Morrison’s Fresh Cooking, Church’s Chicken, Cinnabon and Fiesta Brands.
Since 2010, Elliott has been CEO at FSC Franchise Co., overseeing three national brands — Beef O Brady’s, The Brass Tap, and Newk’s — with 280 locations and $500 million in annual sales.
“We’ve driven positive sales for 12 of the past 14 years,” Elliott says proudly. “There’s been a lot of Terry College accounting at work.”
Elliott fondly recalls classes with the late Earl Davis, a revered professor in the J.M. Tull School of Accounting. “Dr. Davis’s class started at 8 o’clock, when he locked the door, no late admissions,” Elliott says. “That discipline reinforced my natural instincts about being on time, dependable and fully present.”
Elliott grew up in Tallapoosa, Georgia, with just 2,900 neighbors. In 1974, the UGA campus had 20,000 students. “I felt intimidated in my first class,” he recalls. “The students seemed so worldly, more sophisticated and smarter. I felt I had to prove I belonged.”
Elliott learned outside the classroom, too. Early in his career, a Coca-Cola dispenser malfunctioned during a busy lunch rush, spraying Coke across the restaurant he managed.
“At first I panicked,” Elliott laughs. “I had no idea what was happening and there was only me to solve the problem. So I got down on my hands and knees, with Coke spewing in my face, and figured out how to turn off a carbonator.
“Moments like that build your confidence. When problems come up, you can’t run from them. You dive in head first.”
Today, Elliott works in Tampa. He’s been married to his wife, Jill, for 25 years. (“Don’t tell anybody,” he says, “but she was a cheerleader at Georgia Tech.”) They love to travel with their children, both college students. And they love playing dominoes.
His advice to Terry students?
“My accounting degree has served me well,” Elliott says, “but don’t let your major pigeonhole you. Find a career that fits you personally.”
He adds, “Also, remember that you don’t get ahead in life by meeting expectations. You get there by exceeding them. Doing things you’re not comfortable with is where you grow.”
Favorite taste
“I like our wings, cooked a little extra to make them crispy, then served with our buffalo wing sauce.”