Hayley Pedrick, Vice President of Corporate Accounts at Grubhub, recently discussed her approach to leadership and strategy as part of an internal spotlight series highlighting company leaders. Pedrick joined Grubhub with a background in consulting and startups, including experience at Bain and Brightwheel.
She described the company’s current direction: “The vision and energy around it were huge for me. Marc’s path for the company is ambitious but doable. It makes sense, and you can see how to get there step by step. I was energized by how much people believe in where we’re headed and how every team is connected to that growth story.”
Pedrick noted the adaptability of her team amid organizational changes: “The resilience of the team. Grubhub’s been through a lot of change over the past several years — and still, people are positive, focused, and ready to go back into growth mode. Every month brings something new, and the team just keeps moving forward.”
Reflecting on lessons from previous roles, she said: “At Bain, I focused on five-to-ten-year strategy projects and M&A work — that taught me how to take a 15,000-foot view of markets and growth plans. Then at Brightwheel, I learned how critical people are to making that strategy actually work. You can’t just put a vision on a slide; you need the right people in the right roles who believe in it and own it.”
Her priorities for Corporate Accounts include staffing key positions, balancing immediate execution with long-term planning, improving processes for business clients, investing in leadership development within her team, and preparing for future opportunities. “The first priority was people — filling open roles and getting the right leaders in place. From there, the focus has been on both short-term execution and long-term strategy… We’re also beginning to heavily invest in team development — growing leadership capabilities and building a stronger internal pipeline so the team is ready when new opportunities arise,” Pedrick explained.
On differentiation within corporate food services, Pedrick stated: “Everyone offers the same core products — line of credit, group orders, catering — so true differentiation comes from being the best at solving the underlying customer pain points – attracting and retaining talent, streamlining operations and cutting costs. I can’t go into too much detail now, but we’ll have some exciting news to share next year.”
Discussing Grubhub’s integration with Wonder’s ecosystem following its acquisition by Wonder Group earlier this year—a move intended to broaden service offerings—Pedrick said: “It opens a lot of doors. The breadth of what’s being built across Wonder creates new possibilities for what we can do for our corporate customers. Grubhub alone could have grown Corporate Accounts, but Wonder’s ecosystem lets us move faster and serve more needs with one integrated offering.”
She also shared advice received during her career: “‘Stop waiting for someone to give you the plan, go make the plan.’ That’s been core for me. No matter your level or tenure, understand what the company and your team need, build your own plan, and bring it forward. If you wait for direction, you won’t learn as quickly or drive as much impact.”
Drawing parallels between scuba instruction experience in Indonesia after management consulting work—where remaining calm under pressure was essential—and leadership today at Grubhub she added: “When things get tense at work, I remind myself that this isn’t life or death. Take a breath, stay grounded, and focus on solving the problem the right way. It’s about creating calm so others can think clearly too.”
Pedrick concluded by expressing interest in financial planning roles due to her affinity for spreadsheets but clarified she would only want such responsibilities temporarily.
