For more than twenty years, Steve Nedvidek has been the Innovator in Residence for Chick-fil-A. He is responsible for helping to build the innovation muscle within the organization, and his primary duties are geared toward creating a culture of and competency for innovation at Chick-fil-A. Prior to joining Chick-fil-A, Nedvidek received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Wingate University and a Master of Arts in Theater from Wake Forest University.

http://www.inreality.com/blog/chick-fil-a-pushes-the-boundaries-of-innovation-cx/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottdavis/2013/12/16/chick-fil-as-raving-fans-growth-strategy/

On the show, Steve spoke about the way that S. Truett Cathy founded Chick-fil-A as a highly innovative business – inventing the chicken sandwich, redefining the business model to a new franchise model, and more. Today, the company has a huge need for innovation – it is in a fiercely competitive market, with not only McDonald’s but also Chipotle and others – and this innovation is really quite difficult, especially given the decentralized nature of a franchised business. Chick-fil-A responded to the challenge by founding an 80,000 square-foot innovation center called Hatch. This is a place for the most innovative minds at Chick-fil-A to constantly work on innovating at all levels of the restaurant and company, using such high-technology tools as a virtual-reality restaurant simulator so highly detailed as to even have virtual gum beneath the tables!