It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call Alice Elliot — CEO of the executive search and consulting firm The Elliot Group — a king maker.

Her search and consulting firm has deep and longstanding relationships with the most powerful people in the restaurant industry, many of which the firm placed at top spots.

And because of her leadership and mentorship over her 35-year career in hospitality, Alice is this year’s Nation’s Restaurant News Norman Award winner, following in the footsteps of Norman Award alumni like Inspire Brands CEO Paul Brown, former Popeyes’ CEO Cheryl Bachelder and former Domino’s CEO Pat Doyle.

Alice is without a doubt, a restaurant industry success story.

So it surprised me when I interviewed Alice for our Extra Serving podcast that she was so humble about what’s she has learned over her career and the challenges she has overcome.

“My first business, which I literally fell into after college, soon after I went bankrupt. So my first venture into the business world that was formal was not successful. And that was to teach me many many lessons in anticipation of starting the Elliot Group”

Alice told me about how she formed the Elliot Group by calling up fast-food restaurants in the phonebook. She talked about what it means to be a leader and how her father taught her about the dignity of work.

“I was always taken by the notion … that there is a deep connection to inspiring people who want to contribute but through that there’s a pride of work,” she said.

Alice is a person who normally works behind the scenes and supports other people, but on this podcast she shares some hard-earned insight from her successful career of building leaders.

Listen to this podcast for more. And consider coming to the MUFSO conference in Denver, Oct. 14-16, where we will be celebrating Alice and hearing from her on a panel.