Kelly Hanson
VP, IT
Culver's
Kelly Hanson is Vice President of Information Technology (IT) for Culver Franchising System, LLC (CFS), the franchisor for over 980 Culver’s restaurants in 25 states. In this capacity, Ms. Hanson oversees the technology environment and software solutions in support of Culver’s restaurant operations (point of sale, kitchen production system, back office system, network design, and PCI compliance), executing on Culver’s digital initiatives, and the technology in support of CFS as the franchisor (network design and maintenance, Microsoft productivity solutions, desktop hardware, and telephony). She joined the company in February 2019.
Ms. Hanson has spent her career in IT in a progression of roles responsible for application development, infrastructure and IT operations in a variety of industries, including retail and ecommerce, and just prior to joining CFS, in Wisconsin state government.
A fun fact about Kelly, she firmly believes cheese should be served with every meal.
Learn more about the Milwauklee CIO community here.
Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
I've been offered many opportunities to experience new roles, and I have taken every single one. I've been a project manager, business analyst, program manager, app dev manager and then transitioned to senior leadership roles in state government and in my current role.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
Do the right thing.
What is the greatest challenge CIOs face today, and how are you addressing it?
Finding technical solutions that are ready to scale to the size and volume of our business.
What is the key to success for someone just starting out as a CIO?
Listen for a bit, find your footing and then make a list.
How do you measure success as a leader?
The happiness of my team.
What is the value of being a member of the Evanta community?
The ability to network and share with other Wisconsin technical leaders is invaluable.
Evanta Governing Body members share their insights and leadership perspectives to shape the agendas and topics that address the top priorities impacting business leaders today.
by CIOs, for CIOs
Join the conversation with peers in your local CIO community.