Meet the leader behind Chick-fil-A Millenia Walk's hospitality philosophy

Before we even begin the interview, Deborah insists I eat.


Freshly made Chick-fil-A nuggets and waffle fries are placed on the table, alongside a selection of dipping sauces and drinks to try. As I instinctively reach for my recorder, she smiles and waves me off.


"Eat first while it's still hot," she says. "We can chat before we start."


It lasts less than a minute, but it tells me almost everything I need to know about the kind of leader Deborah is.


Chick-fil-A's second Singapore restaurant opens at Millenia Walk on 30 July, with Deborah leading the new outlet as its owner operator. But when we sit down to chat, she speaks less about chicken sandwiches and more about people.

Every answer returns to the same belief: genuine hospitality begins long before the food reaches the table.

From family business to finding purpose

Although she spent much of her childhood in the family restaurant, Deborah admits joining the industry wasn’t initially driven by passion.

“It actually started out as duty to take care of my parents’ restaurant,” she says. “I was quite an introvert then, so I had to tell myself, ‘Fake it till you make it.’

Over time, however, the people she met changed her perspective.

“I’ve seen couples come into the restaurant, get married, have children, and now those children are taller than me,” she says. “To be part of that stretch of people’s lives is really special.”

Those experiences also taught her the importance of being present.

“Being a recognisable face in the restaurant is really important. People want to know that you know them.”

A culture built around care

Long before Chick-fil-A arrived in Singapore, Deborah’s father had already fallen in love with the brand overseas and repeatedly encouraged the family to invite it here.

Years later, during the pandemic, Deborah came across interviews with Chick-fil-A leaders describing their workplace as “soul breathing” rather than “soul sucking”.

“I thought, ‘I’d love to work for an organisation like that,’” she recalls.

Now, as she prepares to lead the Millenia Walk restaurant, creating that same culture is one of her biggest priorities.

Even interviews begin with snacks and drinks before any questions are asked.


It was the same approach she took when we met. Before discussing business goals, customer service or restaurant operations, Deborah's instinct was simply to make sure I was comfortable.


"It's recognising that there's a person in front of you," she says. "Everyone deserves care."

Inspired by the Japanese concept of ikigai, Deborah also hopes to help employees discover roles that align with their strengths and interests, whether that’s taking ownership of the restaurant’s fresh flowers or developing skills beyond their daily responsibilities.

Hospitality starts with listening

For Deborah, great hospitality isn’t simply about serving food quickly.

“It’s bespoke,” she says. “You have to understand the person in front of you.”

She recalls a customer who repeatedly complained about a meal. Instead of focusing on resolving the complaint, Deborah chose to listen.

Eventually, the woman revealed that the dish reminded her of her grandmother’s cooking before sharing that her husband had recently passed away from cancer.

The restaurant had been somewhere they had always planned to visit together.

“There was a hospitality moment there that I could so easily have missed,” Deborah says. “If I had simply focused on solving the complaint, I would never have understood what she was actually carrying.”

It’s a lesson that continues to shape her leadership today.

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Leading with empathy

As the mother of three boys, Deborah says becoming a parent has reshaped both her definition of success and the way she leads.

“Success looks like making progress across work, family and taking care of myself,” she says. “We’re very good at giving and giving and giving, but it’s important to fill your own cup too.”

She’s also learnt that kindness and accountability don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

“You can say no while still being very kind,” she says. “If someone isn’t performing and you don’t address it, you’re actually being unfair to the rest of the team.”

It’s a philosophy she sums up in one sentence. “Connect before you correct.”

As Deborah prepares to welcome customers to Chick-fil-A’s newest Singapore restaurant, she’s hoping to build more than a successful business. She wants to create a place where both employees and customers feel genuinely cared for.

Asked how she’d like her team to describe her as a leader, she answers without hesitation: caring, challenging and resilient.

And for women aspiring to lead, her advice is simple.

“We can be very hard on ourselves,” she says. “So if we’re going to challenge ourselves, we also need to encourage ourselves. You’ve done the best you could with the information you had, and you’ve made an impact.”