Cordia Harrington

Cordia Harrington is CEO and founder of Crown Bakeries, a highly automated, high-speed baking company that makes over 15 million baked goods daily and employs more than 1,700 people, serving elite customers in the United States, South America and the Caribbean. As CEO, Ms. Harrington guides the executive team to successful planning, business development, sales and marketing, and brand management.

Ms. Harrington serves on the Global Crossing Airlines Board of Directors and the Belmont University Board of Trustees. She is the immediate past Chair of the American Bakers Association Board of Directors and past Chair of the Chief Executives Organization Board of Directors.

Under Ms. Harrington’s leadership, Crown Bakeries have received many awards, including the 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned Businesses, Business with Purpose Award, and Nashville Business Journal’s Best in Business Award. Ms. Harrington was listed on Forbes magazine’s list of 100 wealthiest self-made women in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. C200 recognized her as an Entrepreneurial Champion with their 2024 Luminary Award. The University of Arkansas awarded her an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 2020 and named a building in her honor in 2022 (the Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence). Ms. Harrington was named Nashville Post’s 2020 CEO of the Year and was inducted into the American Society of Baking Hall of Fame in February 2018. She has been recognized by numerous other organizations for her commitment to excellence and entrepreneurial spirit.

Ms. Harrington attended Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan; she graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science degree. She currently resides in Franklin, Tennessee, with her husband Tom. Together they have five children and eleven grandchildren.