Diane Browne

First name: Diane

Last name: Browne

Job title: Vice President, Growth, Healthcare & Senior Living Services

Organization: Aramark Canada Ltd.

Program: MBA

Diane Browne has always gone above and beyond during her career. An alumnus of Lang’s MBA program in hospitality and tourism management, completing the executive program was a crucial steppingstone for her career success in hospitality and healthcare.

Browne (MBA ’09), is an accomplished business leader with over 25 years’ experience managing business development, operations and marketing for complex healthcare and foodservice management organizations. In her current role as Vice President, Growth, Healthcare & Senior Living Services she leads teams who develop unique food and facility services for healthcare and senior living organizations across Canada – a role she takes considerable pride in.

“I’m specifically focused on the support service functions within healthcare and senior living,” says Browne. “Our goal is to bring the hospitality, service-oriented focus back to healthcare.”

Leading the foodservice growth teams at Aramark, Browne is putting choice on the menu so that patients have more control over what they eat during their hospital stay. “We’re providing choice, while keeping conscious of the cost to the system,” says Browne.

Allowing patients to eat what they want also reduces food waste. “The waste is not just about cost; the waste is also about waste on the plate, so that they’re getting the nutrition they need to recover.”

Browne’s career started in operations with Scott’s Hospitality, a diversified food services organization, where she advanced to become Director of Marketing for their Enterprise Group. As a Strategic Account Manager for Georgia-Pacific (GP), she served very large strategic customers such as McDonald’s and Premier Purchasing. A life-long learner, Browne added additional credentials to her resume by completing the Certified Healthcare Executive (CHE) designation. An important credential for leaders in health care.

She then pursued her executive MBA from the University of Guelph, largely as it was one of the only programs in Canada with a distinct stream in hospitality management.

The Lang MBA gave Browne the confidence and credentials to take on senior leadership roles in taking on both the growth and retention teams in both Canada and the US.

Browne conducted a major research paper during her MBA, focusing her paper on a real challenge faced by her employer. This gave her a tremendous amount of confidence to present a detailed research report to her leadership team.

The paper explored how the opinions of patients and healthcare administrators differed based on their specific experiences. She remembers presenting the paper to the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital where the research was completed. This was a very gratifying way to close out the MBA experience.

The skills and knowledge Browne obtained during her Lang MBA stayed with her throughout her career. Specifically, the need for concise and effective communication – a skill she has honed over the years working in various leadership positions.

“In addition to the finance and operational skills I learned, what stuck with me was the need for efficient and concise communication,” says Browne. “When emailing CEOs and presidents, you need to stay on message, relay the most important pieces of information and get straight to-the-point.”

Like most Lang MBA graduates, Browne’s favourite memory was the on-campus experiences that the program is known for. This experience allowed her to network with her cohort and interact with Lang’s outstanding faculty.

“Coming from healthcare, I had a unique background that complemented other students who were in restaurant or hotel management,” says Browne. “I remember working alongside Dr. Joe Barth, who guided me through my research project.”

This eclectic mix of students from various industries was an inspiration for Browne – one that she would draw upon throughout her career. “I am constantly collaborating with people from various disciplines or job functions throughout our organization. Having that collaborative mindset is an integral part of being an effective leader.”

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