Monty Moran, former CEO of Chipotle, spoke at Westminster College in Fulton on Wednesday as part of the Brauer Lecture Series.
In addition to being the former Chipotle CEO, Moran is also a lawyer, author, pilot and filmmaker.
Donald Lofe, Jr, provided a welcome address and Westminster student Jonathan Banza introduced the speaker.
Moran spoke to students and community members about his career and how to be an effective leader. His lecture was titled "The Power of Authentic Leadership at Chipotle and Beyond."
Prior to working with Chipotle, he was head of litigation at Messner and Reeves, a law firm based in Denver. He was also a managing partner and the CEO at the company. He led Messner and Reeves for 10 years.
Moran spoke about his first job, which was working at a Dairy Queen in Boulder, Colorado, when he was 15.
One key concept of Moran's speech was love, and the power of love.
"Love is the most powerful thing we have to give to others," he said.
Later in his lecture, Moran spoke about going undercover at Chipotle restaurants. He wanted to learn more about the company and what could be done to improve it, so he went undercover as an employee to receive training.
He said this was an amazing experience, and led to big changes within Chipotle.
Moran also spoke about the importance of being a restaurateur. He said it was important to care about the restaurant being run.
After the lecture, Ashley Dodson, assistant professor of leadership studies, led a question and answer segment.
The inaugural Brauer Lecture was given in 2022 by Arthur Brooks.