Julie Swift

(Raw) Honesty. (Real) Experience. (Tested) Integrity.

Hire for all three.

Your audience deserves straight talk from an authentic speaker. Thirty plus years of navigating the foodservice channel gives Julie a unique perspective to provide a meaningful, inspiring experience.

"Julie is a fantastic speaker! She is relatable and funny while delivering profound messages that touch the soul and drive action. She leaves audiences feeling both moved and empowered."

--Jacquelyn Fletcher Johnson

Biz 417's Think Summit 2023

Biz 417's Think Summit pulls together entrepreneurs, managers and professionals from across southwest Missouri, for a dynamic day of thought-provoking presentations.

In 2023, Julie taught two great lessons with one funny - and inspiring - anecdote. It's the story of a classic Julie move from way back in the fax machine days, and it includes Julie's boss saying, "What the … ?" The two lessons apply to sales, and they apply to life, too.

Take a look!

JMark: Own the Journey - Featured Guest

Own the Journey interviews top business leaders and provides a forum for sharing their knowledge and the lessons they've learned with entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Julie has three messages:

Owning the journey and identifying the issues that hold you back.
Being diverse and including a variety of voices and points of view.
Being yourself.

And as always, she delivers them with her engaging enthusiasm.

Watch here.

The Food Institute

One of the foodservice industry's most respected publications, Food Institute consulted Julie for information about the big-picture effects of inflation on foodservice - for manufacturers, operators and brokers. Her experience across the industry allows for comments that take into account every aspect of the foodservice economy.

An economic evaluation of the current market. Read the article here.

NextUp Annual Summit Convention - Panel Speaker

NextUp works to advance women in business by helping women lift each other up as each reaches her unique potential along the way. Their annual summit is the event of the year, attracting thousands of members, allies and partners.

During the 2021 Summit, Julie spoke on a topic close to her heart: disability and inclusion.

The Amber Weitzer Podcast: Silhouettes of Success Podcast - Featured Guest

Amber Weitzer's Silhouettes of Success Podcast strives to turn the spotlight on industrious women across the business landscape. Julie spoke with Amber about the grit and determination it took to succeed in the foodservice industry. One of our favorite parts - Amber calls Julie a "fireball of awesomeness." Julie shares day to day best practices and advice about values and boundaries that can help turn potholes and roadblocks into opportunities. Julie's resolute nature and her love for the foodservice industry shine through in this inspiring interview.

Biz 417 | May 2018

Biz 417's Advice and Whiskey column provides pithy quotes and great advice from interviews with leaders across industries and business communities. Julie sat down over drinks to share some of her wisdom from thirty years in foodservice. Be an expert on your product. Bring your passion. And bring your integrity. Julie's words apply to any business, at any level of leadership.

Industry Now QSR Summit, 2025 - Panelist

2nd Annual Workforce Management in Fast Casual & QSR Summit

Panel Spotlight: Leading the Way—Women Transforming Fast Casual & QSR Leadership

Industry Now's annual event brings people together from across fast casual and QSR for two days of networking, learning, new ideas and engaging conversations.

Managing people in these segments presents unique challenges and opportunities. At this year's event, Julie and her fellow panelists share insights on how women in leadership are reshaping the way things get done.

Determined to challenge the status quo and to empower and elevate future leaders, Julie lends her voice and expertise to uplifting women across the value chain and throughout the foodservice channel.

Read about it on LinkedIn

Fast Casual Summit, Denver CO - Panelist

Breaking Bread and Biases: Why restaurants (still) Need More Female Voices.

Read about it here

Industry Intelligence, Inc. - Executive Summary: The Foodservice Women's Alliance

Born from necessity, the Foodservice Women's Alliance (FWA) is a volunteer-led, grassroots collective disrupting industry norms to bridge the gender gap and foster an inclusive environment where women, especially women of color, can thrive and lead in their careers.

Read the article here

Food Institute Podcast: Making the Business Case for DEI

Chris Campbell

"Is there a business case to be made for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts? According to Julie Swift, foodservice industry veteran and founder of The Foodservice Women's Alliance, the answer is a resounding yes. On this episode of The Food Institute Podcast, Swift helps explain the impacts of unconscious bias, and how simple it can be to bring all team members to the table when leadership buys into DEI efforts."

Rooted Roundtable: A Foodservice Exploration with Industry Experts; Julie Swift, Hannah Lopez & Ben Wahl

Pleasantly Persistent from Rooted Food Sales - Featured Guest

In this series with Matt Cotton of Rooted Food Sales, Julie appears alongside Hannah Lopez and Ben Wahl as they answer questions and discuss brand entrepreneurship and moving into foodservice. In her signature style, Julie reminds listeners that there's so rarely a one-size-fits-all answer in foodservice - from due diligence to costs, the answer is often, “it depends.” And Julie is just the expert to explain why!

Hear the podcast here.

Buyer's Edge Platform - EstabliSHEd Speaker

Buyer's Edge Platform provides data and technology that enables foodservice operators, manufacturers and distributors to communicate efficiently and transparently, throughout the supply chain.

As part of their EstabliSHEd Women's Employee Resource Group, Julie spoke about the value and importance of ERGs, even at a company as committed to diversity as Buyer's Edge.

Her presentation moved on to one of the things she does best - connecting with people and helping them connect with others. Julie calls it "networking like your career depends on it - because it does."

She closed with the roles involved in supporting women in any organization: allyship, advocacy and sponsorship.

The Anthony Atiase Experience with guest Julie Swift

The Anthony Atiase Experience - Featured Guest

Episode #133
Anthony Atiase uses his podcast to highlight inspirational lives and stories from people who are at once every day and extraordinary. Julie talks about the experiences that led her from her father's supermarket to senior and executive leadership positions in both foodservice manufacturing and brokerage. And from foodservice industry leadership to work that focuses on changing the world for the better.

Listen to the podcast.

Titans of Foodservice Podcast by Nick Portillo - Featured Guest

Episode #4
Nick Portillo's Titans of Foodservice podcast highlights foodservice personalities whose paths to success can serve as roadmaps for leaders throughout the industry. Julie appeared as one of the very first guests on Nick's popular podcast to discuss her own journey to success, and her motivations and dreams for Foodservice Women's Alliance.

Favorite quote: "With a DEIB focus, an employee can expect to bring their authentic self to work, to be invited to the table, to be listened to, respected, to feel like they belong and are making a difference for that company. That happens on an individual basis. There isn't one big paint brush you can take and paint this space with."

Hear the whole interview.

About Julie Swift

Foodservice Women's Alliance

Founder & Chairwoman

Straight Talk with Julie Swift

A strong business blog talking about the foodservice industry and the powerful role women and other under-represented groups play within this field

Business Profile by Julie Swift

Foodservice Maven | Growth Architect | DEIB Accelerator | Wherever your business is, it's what you do next that matters.

Friends of Springfield Fire

Foodservice Maven | Growth Architect | DEIB Accelerator | Wherever your business is, it's what you do next that matters.

"Sales is one part grit, one part skill, five parts grace, and skirting the shortest distance to a point. By this measure, Julie Swift is the prima ballerina of Foodservice."

--Michele Gazzolo

Founder/CEO of Fruitbelt Tart Sparkling Water

Accomplishments

Inaugural member of Advantage Solutions' DE&I board

Julie was one of eight individuals selected from over 200 top-level leaders to serve as an inaugural member of Advantage Solutions' DE&I Board. In addition to serving on the Board, she spent two years co-leading Learning and Development for DE&I, from the projects very beginning.

From the inception of Advantage's Women's Employee Resource Group, Women's Interactive Network (WIN), she served as Board Ambassador in helping bring this group into formation.

Senior & Executive Leadership

2021 Honoree

2020 Honoree

2019 Honoree

The French's Food Company

2007 - Sales Leader of the Year

2002 - Marketing Manager of the Year

Biz 417's Women Who Mean Business

Class of 2020 Honoree

Class of 2019

Read the Article.

Julie Swift (she/her/hers)

Julie-Swift, LLC

417.849.3903 (text/voice)

JulieSSwift@outlook.com

Springfield, MO

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Foodservice Maven | Growth Architect | DEIB Accelerator