As a UGA student, when Michael Lage entered the Leonard Leadership Scholars Program in the Terry College of Business, he was struck immediately by the passion of his fellow scholars. They wanted to make a difference in business and in the world. 

The lessons Lage BBA ’05 learned in the program, a core offering of Terry’s Institute for Leadership Advancement, are ones he continues to utilize today. 

“The No. 1 realization about great leadership is that it’s not about you. It’s about others,” says Lage, vice president for field operations with Chick-fil-A, Inc. “It’s about leading with a core set of values that creates tremendous value for the people around you.” 

It’s that service-driven leadership perspective that made Lage an ideal match for his career.

Lage’s first job after graduating was with Chick-fil-A as a coordinator on its marketing team. He focused on restaurant and customer outreach. He loved the work, which he did for more than three years, but by Lage’s own admission, he also loved school. 

“It was a dream come true,” he says about his admission to Harvard Business School, one of the only reasons he would have left his Chick-fil-A job.

While working toward his MBA, Lage interned at Google. After earning his degree in 2011, Lage stayed in the tech industry, working as a marketing strategist for Facebook (now Meta) on the West Coast. 

While there, in contrast to the in-person interactions inherent in the restaurant industry, Lage learned how people engage with companies, organizations, and each other through their mobile devices. He’d soon be able to marry the two concepts. 

“The No. 1 realization about great leadership is that it’s not about you. It’s about others. It’s about leading with a core set of values that creates tremendous value for the people around you.” 

MICHAEL LAGE, CHICK-FIA-A, INC. VICE PRESIDENT FOR FIELD OPERATIONS

When the opportunity arose to return to Chick-fil-A in Atlanta, Lage didn’t hesitate. He immediately put his tech experience to work and joined a team that included fellow UGA alumni David Salyers BBA ’81 and Kramer Johnson BBA ’08 to launch the Chick-fil-A app, one of the first mobile-based restaurant connections.

From that point, Lage’s journey has been on an upward trajectory with increased responsibility at every step. Lage was promoted to his current position last October. He helps lead the company’s field operations team, which keeps Lage on the road most weeks. He meets with Chick-fil-A operators across the country, and every conversation shines a light on a different angle of leadership. How can we continue to improve? How can we shine a light on the amazing experiences that take place every day? What can we learn from others?  

And, since Chick-fil-A is one of the lead corporate sponsors of the ILA, Lage regularly returns to campus to speak to classes, visit with students, and reconnect with his professors and mentors. 

“There is a spirit of curiosity, of hunger, of wanting to learn, of wanting to grow, of wanting to see what’s out there and what’s next,” Lage says about today’s UGA students, business and otherwise. “I’m continuously struck by the humility and eagerness and passion for learning.”

Every day is an opportunity for Lage to expand on his personal leadership growth. 

“Every moment matters,” Lage says about the customer experience with Chick-fil-A, but, really, the sentiment could be applied pretty broadly.

“How do we empower our local owner-operators and position them to win that moment? How do they take care of customers and leave them driving away, going, ‘Man, I feel better about my day’? I feel the weight and responsibility for stewarding the trust and the promise so many of our customers have placed on Chick-fil-A over time. But, you know, I also realize that we get to do it together.”