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Lana Duke
Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Lana grew up in a foster home. She left Toronto at age 18 and moved to New Orleans with only $350 to her name. To make ends meet, she took jobs selling pots and pans door-to-door and as a short-order cook. Lana soon graduated to advertising, first at the Clarion-Herald newspaper in New Orleans, where she worked her way up to advertising director. Then, in 1975, with $10,000 in savings, she opened her own ad agency, Duke Unlimited, which would eventually become the largest woman-owned agency in the Gulf South. In the years to come, Lana Duke would often be called the “secret weapon” behind some of the great success stories in American business. In 1968, Lana made a cold sales call on a single mother who was running a popular steak house on Broad Street in Mid-City New Orleans. Before long, Lana’s agency had the Ruth’s Chris Steak House account, and Lana began a 26-year professional and personal relationship with Ruth Fertel, a relationship that Lana still views as the greatest achievement of her career. Lana worked hand-in-hand with Ruth to develop the successful marketing program that helped grow Ruth's Chris from two restaurants in Louisiana to the world's largest fine dining brand. For Ruth’s Chris, Lana always kept her focus on selling the steak and the sizzle. “We took one central idea – the sizzling steak is the star – and stayed with it over the years, never wavering but refining the concept, expanding it and building a No. 1 brand,” Lana says. She became a trusted counselor within the Ruth's Chris organization, becoming involved with much more than the marketing. Lana helped with troubled restaurants and guided them to successful turnarounds; she spent many long days with Ruth and other Ruth’s Chris executives, brainstorming ways to improve the business and to make it even more successful. Such a believer in the product was Lana that in 1993 she became a Ruth's Chris franchise owner, opening her first restaurant in San Antonio. The restaurant was profitable from the beginning, and Lana was able to repay her investors early. In 1995, Lana opened her next Ruth's Chris in Toronto. In June 2000 a second Ruth's Chris debuted in San Antonio, this time downtown. Her latest location opened in Mississauga, Ontario, in 2003. With her eye on growth and her finger on the pulse of thriving business communities, Lana is scouting locations for a possible third location in the Alamo city and also in New York State. A keen entrepreneur, Lana also is a co-owner of the Palace Truck Stop and Casino in New Orleans. In addition, as CEO of Lana Duke Consulting in New Orleans, she is putting her three decades of experience to work to help entrepreneurs raise capital, solve business problems and grow their companies in today’s challenging business environment. Her goals today are to continue to grow her businesses and also to help teach others how to be more successful. She is frequently asked to speak to a variety of business organizations, as well as to college and university audiences. Lana shares the advantages of having a vision, thinking big, delivering customer satisfaction, going with your gut and understanding the "Five P's" of marketing - Product, Price, People, Place and Promotion. These are just a few of her suggested “Ten Tips for Success in this Crazy Business,” a speech she frequently gives to business and professional groups. In both her business and personal life, Lana leads by example. For example, she serves as a role model to the local children of Roy Maas’ Youth Alternatives, a San Antonio residence and counseling center for children between the ages of 5 and 17 who are in crisis. The children who come to Youth Alternatives are often abused and neglected, and are in dire need of shelter and care. Each year Lana opens her arms and her doors to the children of Roy Maas’ Youth Alternatives. From Thanksgiving jubilees to etiquette training dinners, Lana enthusiastically shares her story, her time, and her San Antonio restaurants with these children so they better understand what the future might have to offer. San Antonio’s Downtown Alliance recently named Ruth's Chris as the "Best Restaurant with a Heart" due to Lana's generous contributions and involvement within the San Antonio community. Lana also is deeply involved in helping the foster children of Peel Children’s Aid Society in the Toronto-Mississauga area. Once a foster child herself, Lana believes strongly in the good work of this kind of charity, whose mission is to protect children and strengthen families and communities through partnerships with businesses, individuals and other charitable groups. The children of PCA, ranging in age from 9 to 18, like the children at Roy Maas’ in San Antonio, have been through a great deal in their short lives. Each year, among other things Lana does a “Steps of Etiquette” dinner for about 100 children, alternating between the Mississauga and Toronto restaurant locations. In 1980, when she headed the New Orleans Ad Club, the American Advertising Federation named Lana the Outstanding Ad Club President in the United States. Then in 1990, she was awarded the Advertising Silver Medal Award from the New Orleans Ad Club, honoring a lifetime of advertising achievement. Lana is the youngest recipient of this award. She was instrumental in founding The Innisbrook Group, an international network of marketing, advertising and public relations firms. Lana has served on the boards of many businesses, civic and charitable organizations. Revised September 19, 2007
Lana Duke Photo: Gadi Hoz Photographics Inc.
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The Lana Duke story is the classic rags-to-riches tale, with many ups and downs along the way, but Lana’s legendary “do-it-right-and-never-give-up” attitude have always kept her moving ahead.