Centioli Presents WSU Burtenshaw Lecture in Seattle

PULLMAN, Wash. — Hospitality industry leader Gerard Centioli will discuss “In the
Footsteps of Legends” when he presents the Washington State University Burtenshaw Lecture
April 22 in Seattle. The 7 p.m. talk is set for the Spanish Ballroom of the Four Seasons Olympic
Hotel, 411 University St.
Centioli is president and CEO of the Emerging Concepts Division of Brinker International
Inc. and also senior partner and senior vice president of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Inc.
The Emerging Concepts Division consists of Maggiano’s Little Italy, Corner Bakery, Big Bowl
and Wildfire.
The bi-annual Burtenshaw Lecture, hosted by WSU Hotel & Restaurant Administration,
brings leaders in the hospitality industry to Seattle each spring and to the WSU campus in
Pullman in the fall. The series is sponsored by D. Jerry and Angelina Burtenshaw in memory of
their son.
“Gerard Centioli has devoted his life to all aspects of the hospitality business, and is
creating his own industry legend,” comments WSU HRA Director W. Terry Umbreit. “Featuring
Mr. Centioli as a Burtenshaw lecturer is a tremendous honor for us.”
A Seattle native, Centioli spent his childhood employed in all segments of a Kentucky Fried
Chicken franchise totaling 41 units and owned by Gil’s Enterprises Inc. After receiving his
Gonzaga University bachelor’s degree in business administration with majors in public
accounting and marketing, Centioli became assistant to the president and vice president for Gil’s.
He went on to hold several executive positions with the Kentucky Fried Chicken Division of
Collins Food International Inc., Ed Devevic’s Inc., the Tucci Division of Lettuce Entertain You
Enterprises Inc., Maggiano’s/Corner Bakery Inc. and, ultimately, Brinker International Inc.
“Crain’s Chicago Business” named Centioli one of the 40 Players Under 40 in 1994. “Nation’s
Restaurant News” named him one of the Top 50 New Players in 1997. He is a member of the
Gonzaga University School of Business Dean’s Round Table and is a member of the Young
Presidents’ Organization, and served as an officer of its Chicago chapter from 1994-1996. Centioli
was a guest presenter and panelist in 1998 at the Donald I. Smith Chain Restaurant Management
Conference at WSU.
For more information about the Burtenshaw Lecture in Seattle and to make reservations,
contact Andrea Luoma at 509/335-9619.
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