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September 2, 2024 / 2024 Lifetime Achievement & C-Suite Honorees

2024 C-Suite Honoree: Etkin Tekin

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Etkin Tekin is the co-founder and CEO of Haven Hot Chicken. He launched his first restaurant during his senior year at Yale, started another company in restaurant tech at 25, and spent seven years at ZX Ventures/AB-InBev honing his corporate skill set.

Tekin’s primary responsibilities at Haven Hot Chicken include growth strategy, business planning, public relations, fundraising and investor relations, and people development.

What have been your biggest professional accomplishments over the past year?

As CEO of Haven Hot Chicken, I have overseen the company more than double in size over the past year. In August 2023, Haven Hot Chicken had four locations, and as of August 2024, Haven Hot Chicken had nine.

As a result of this growth, I have keyed in on leadership development and advancing people within the organization. We have proudly promoted over 20 employees from hourly team members to shift lead, assistant general manager, or general manager. Our commitment to and investment in our people is the secret to our success.

In what ways are you involved in the community? We are proud to partner with CT Foodshare, Connecticut’s food bank, with our signature Great Banana Pudding Drive. For every banana pudding sold, we contribute a meal to CT Foodshare, meeting the needs of almost 500,000 food-insecure state residents.

On the job

Guiding business principle: Be a good employer.

Best way to keep your competitive edge: Instill our core values of being humble, rigorous, relentless, positive, joyful, inclusive and focusing on teamwork.

Best business decision: Investing in the development and growth of our teams.

Worst business decision: There are no bad decisions, only opportunities to learn.

Biggest missed opportunity: No regrets!

Goal yet to be achieved: Reaching 100% guest satisfaction; we are currently at 4.6/5 stars.

Personal touch in your office: My office is my car, or one of the Haven Hot Chicken store locations. Crispy, crunchy, juicy, spicy, delicious chicken is the personal touch in my office!

Personal side:

Place of residence: Hamden

Favorite way to relax: Eating Hot Chicken!

Hobbies: Running, morning workouts, visiting craft breweries

Last vacation: Rome

Favorite movie: “Shawshank Redemption”

The car you drive: Tesla Model 3

Currently reading: “The Comfort Crisis,” by Michael Easter

Favorite cause: Food insecurity

Second choice career: Another role at Haven Hot Chicken

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Etkin Tekin

Co-Founder & CEO

Haven Hot Chicken

Size of organization: $13M in 2024; 170 employees

Education: Yale University, Bachelor’s Degree, Anthropology

 

 

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