---
title: "Why some restaurants face a leadership vacuum"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/15fb3b7e-54a7-4232-b177-b87bea7f6c2d
source: "Restaurant Business"
original_url: https://restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/why-some-restaurants-face-leadership-vacuum
category: "Family dining"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Family dining"
topics: ["People"]
published: 2026-06-03T17:51:19.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T14:58:34.732Z
image: https://cdn.informaconnect.com/platform/files/public/2026-06/background/ADD-%206-3-26.jpg?VersionId=YNqDyJG.qfrVoS99_buNE1ljcl0ZkZPs
---

# Why some restaurants face a leadership vacuum

**TL;DR:** Toni Ronayne, founder of C Society, discusses the need for C-level leadership in emerging restaurant chains on the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive. C Society provides experienced executives to fill this need.

*originally published in Restaurant Business on 2026-06-03. [Read the original](https://restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/why-some-restaurants-face-leadership-vacuum).*

## Story

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Toni Ronayne, the founder of the fractional C-suite firm C Society.

C Society provides experienced executives who can work with emerging and other restaurant chains, filling a need for c-level leadership. Ronayne is a longtime industry executive whose past stops have included Perkins and Freshii, among other companies.

We discuss why companies need this and how these executives can help. But we also talk extensively about several other issues regarding leadership in the restaurant industry.

This is the latest in a series of podcast episodes that we recorded at the National Restaurant Association Show and it’s a good one so please check it out.

*Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.*

## Entities

- QSR (sector)
- restaurant industry (topic)
- Restaurant Business (publication)
- National Restaurant Association (regulator)
- Freshii (company)
- Perkins (company)
- podcast episode (topic)
- C Society (company)
- Toni Ronayne (person)
- leadership vacuum (topic)
- c-level leadership (topic)

---
Originally reported by Restaurant Business (https://restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/why-some-restaurants-face-leadership-vacuum). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/15fb3b7e-54a7-4232-b177-b87bea7f6c2d).