Burger King Profile - Shambrika Saunders

During Black History Month, we are excited to feature some of the incredible people behind the Burger King brand.

People like Shambrika Saunders, who started her career with BK ten years ago and is now a General Manager for the Central Division, where she supports Franchisees in running successful restaurants by improving operations, profitability, and driving traffic and sales. The opportunity to support Burger King Franchisees is what drives Shambrika’s passion for her job and the brand, and she loves being able to meet restaurant teams and partner with a wide range of individuals across the business to achieve our big dreams.

Shambrika has also made an incredible impact on the culture within the Burger King corporate office by helping to create the Black Employee Network (BEN), where she, alongside Yo-Zon Elliot, August Washington, Cella Nlandu, Marjorie Krakue, and other teams at BK and RBI partnered together to create a safe inclusive space for Black employees and allies committed to supporting the development of its members while raising awareness of social issues that impact Black people. "By being intentional about inclusivity in different spaces, you are able to learn from so many different perspectives and, ultimately, learn to give people opportunities without bias."

The experience of creating, developing, and launching the Black Employee Network has been a personal and inspiring culmination of a lot of her passions.

Reflecting on her time at BK, team building has always been a priority from Shambrika, and she has been fortunate enough to have various mentors throughout her career that were willing to invest in her.   While reflecting on the advice that she would have for others, she said,

"Don't be afraid to dive in wholly, even if that means you're learning. Everything you learn will come back and help you at some point in your career. So always face every opportunity with an ownership mindset because you never know where it will lead you."

She also referenced her affinity for "servant leadership" - the idea that you know how to lead a team, but you are also willing to battle and learn along with them.

Looking forward, Shambrika is most excited about what BK is going to accomplish over the next few years, as well as continuing to see the progress of diversity and inclusion at RBI. She has a lot of faith in where the brand can go – particularly with the "Reclaim the Flame" plan, which involves Burger King investing $400M over the next two years, comprised of $150M in advertising and digital investments to "Fuel the Flame" and $250M for a "Royal Reset" involving restaurant technology, kitchen equipment, building enhancements and high-quality remodels and relocation – and is proud to be apart of that growth.

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