Darden Restaurants Announces Executive Appointments:

Darden Restaurants has appointed the following executives, beginning January 4, 2021:

• Eugene I. Lee, Jr. has been named Chairman, and will maintain his role as Chief Executive Officer moving forward. He previously served the company as President and Chief Executive Officer.

• Ricardo Cardenas has been promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer. He will transition out of his current role as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He previously served as the company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. He joined Darden from LongHorn Steakhouse, where he ultimately led as Executive Vice President of Operations. Prior to that, he was a Senior Vice President with Red Lobster.

Darden is a restaurant company featuring a portfolio of differentiated brands that include Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s. Based in Orlando, FL, Darden has more than 1,500 restaurant locations and more than 150,000 employees. The company posted that total sales for fiscal year 2020 were $7.81 billion.