Culver’s has a new boss, and she is making the brand’s Wisconsin roots feel like more than a slogan. Julie Fussner, the company’s fifth CEO, took the helm in April of last year after serving as chief marketing officer. Her task: keep the company’s remarkable growth going while holding firm to its quality and hospitality standards.
The numbers back up the challenge. The most recent Technomic Top 500 shows limited-service burger sales grew just 1.5% in 2025, below the year’s 3.8% inflation mark and beating only sandwich (0.2%) and pizza (-0.3%) categories. Culver’s did not follow that trend. The better-burger brand enjoyed 14.2% sales growth last year, closing with $4.36 billion at 1,043 locations. That growth pushed Culver’s past competitor Whataburger to become the 24th largest restaurant chain in the U.S.
Fussner sat down with NRN‘s editor-in-chief in Culver’s first-ever location in Sauk City, Wisconsin, to talk about her path from gymnast to Kraft Foods to her current role. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. The full interview, including exclusive video, is available through a QR code on the page.
From Gymnast to Kraft Foods
Fussner grew up in the suburbs of Chicago with two brothers. She was a gymnast from age three until 18, which shaped how she thinks about leadership.
“The discipline that it takes, so the practice every single day — that’s all you’re doing,” she said. “The performance part of it is just two minutes of it.”
She also learned resilience from falling. In gymnastics, she said, “all you do is fall. That falling and getting up and never giving up no matter how many times it takes you to do something, I think, is something you need, especially if you’re going to progress in your career.”
Her career took a sharp turn when she moved to Madison, Wisconsin, in the early 2000s and worked for Oscar Mayer, part of Kraft Foods. She spent 10 years there, holding nine different roles in 10 years.
“That was by far the most formative part of my career in total,” she said. “In 10 years, I had nine different roles there.”
Most of those moves were lateral, not promotions. That experience taught her to build skills across categories and work cross-functionally.
Wisconsin-Inspired Menu
Culver’s menu is homegrown, Fussner said. The Butter Burger, fresh frozen custard, cheese curds — all the great dairy on the menu — is inspired by Wisconsin.
“We actually think that that’s a real differentiator for us — not only the breadth of the menu, but saying that it’s inspired from Wisconsin, because people know we have great food here, especially as it relates to dairy,” she said.
For a marketer, that kind of differentiation makes the job straightforward.
“I say ‘dream come true’ a lot with this brand, because for a marketer to have all of the differentiation that we have in this brand makes the job so straightforward,” she said.
Culture Over Buzzwords
Fussner believes Culver’s culture needed strengthening. The company’s core idea is simple: love for food is as strong as love for people.
“Our culture really is just about caring for people,” she said. “That’s even in our brand idea: We say our love for food is as strong as our love for people.”
She spends a lot of time talking with team members to understand how to react to cultural needs. The company actually means it when it calls itself a family, she said, and that started with founder Craig Culver and his family.
“To the first question, it looks like family. We don’t just say that. I think a lot of companies probably use that term; we actually mean it,” she said.
The People Strategy
Fussner’s approach to culture is practical. First, clarify what you want your culture to look like. Then, know your people.
“What you have to do first is clarify what you want your culture to look like,” she said. “And we’ve been very clear about that at Culver’s from day one: It’s all about the people.”
The way she puts that strategy into action is simple: knowing her operators, knowing many of her team members, including at the store level.
What Comes Next
Fussner is navigating a difficult moment for the industry. Consumers cut back on dining in 2025, and sales slowed for chain restaurants overall. Coffee, beverages, snacks and chicken thrived. Burgers did not.
Culver’s bucked the trend. The company’s growth was significant, but Fussner sees 2025 as the start of her era. Her job is to keep the momentum while holding the quality standard.
The QR code on the page leads to the full interview and exclusive video.
Key Facts
- Limited-service burger sales grew 1.5% in 2025, below 3.8% inflation
- Sandwich sales grew 0.2%, pizza dropped -0.3%
- Culver’s grew 14.2%, closing at $4.36 billion at 1,043 locations
- Culver’s passed Whataburger to become the 24th largest U.S. chain
- Fussner joined as VP of marketing in 2017 after Kraft Foods and Oscar Mayer
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