Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> August 30, 2004

SALLY SMITH – BUFFALO WILD WINGS INC (BWLD)

SALLY J. SMITH, President and Chief Executive Officer of Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc., is one of the few female CEOs in the restaurant industry. Ms. Smith leads the national Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar restaurant empire that includes more than 250 restaurants across 30 states. In November of last year she took Buffalo Wild Wings through a very successful IPO ' the first IPO of a Minnesota-based company since March 2002. Buffalo Wild Wings' stock price shot up 35% on the first day of trading. By the end of the year, the stock was up more than 50%, putting Buffalo Wild Wings in the top 10 among stocks that went public in all of 2003. Named a 2001 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Midwest region and a 2002 North Dakota Entrepreneur of the Year, Ms. Smith sharpened her business acumen with experience at KPMG Peat Marwick, and 11 years at the national franchise company Dahlberg, Inc. (now Miracle-Ear, Inc.), where she ended her tenure as CFO. A Certified Public Accountant, she was hired in 1994 by Buffalo Wild Wings' investors to establish the company's accounting and finance departments. Named President and CEO in 1996, Ms. Smith went on to establish all of Buffalo Wild Wings' functional areas ' including human resources, marketing and information systems. Ms. Smith is a graduate of the University of North Dakota with an Accounting degree. She is a member of the National Restaurant Association Board of Directors, a Trustee of Buena Vista University and a member and Treasurer of the Minnesota Young Presidents Organization. Profile
TWST: Please give us a brief history of your company and a brief

overview of your operations.

Ms. Smith: Buffalo Wild Wings is a sports grill and bar that was started

near the campus of The