As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 27, 2002.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)
March 26, 2002
Darden Restaurants, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Florida 1-13666 59-330593
(State or other jurisdiction (Commission file number) (IRS employer
of incorporation) identification No.)
5900 Lake Ellenor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32809
(Address of principal executive offices)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code:
(407) 245-4000
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Item 5. Other Events.
------------
On March 26, 2002, the Registrant issued a news release
entitled "Darden Restaurants Announces New Leadership
Structure," and a copy is being filed herewith as Exhibit
99.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
---------------------------------
(c) Exhibits.
Exhibit Number
(by reference to
Item 601 of
Regulation S-K) Description
99 Press Release dated March
26, 2002, entitled "Darden
Restaurants Announces New
Leadership Structure."
2
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Dated: March 26, 2002 DARDEN RESTAURANTS, INC.
By: /s/ Clarence Otis, Jr.
__________________________
Clarence Otis, Jr.
Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
3
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
Exhibit Number Description of Exhibit
99 Press Release dated March 26, 2002, entitled Darden
Restaurants Announces New Leadership Structure."
4
EXHIBIT 99
[GRAPHIC OMITTED]
www.darden.com
NEWS/INFORMATION
Corporate Relations
P.O. Box 593330
Orlando, FL 32859
For More Information:
Rick Walsh, Media 407-245-5366
Matthew Stroud, Analysts 407-245-5550
FOR RELEASE
March 26, 2002
4:50 pm EST
DARDEN RESTAURANTS ANNOUNCES NEW LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE
ORLANDO, FL - Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI), owner and operator of the Red
Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze and Smokey Bones BBQ Sports Bar casual
dining restaurant brands, today announced some key promotions and a
restructuring of its senior management team.
Brad Blum, 48, President of Olive Garden, and Dick Rivera, 55, President of
Red Lobster, are being promoted to Vice Chairmen of Darden Restaurants,
reporting to CEO Joe Lee. Also reporting to Lee is Clarence Otis, 45, Senior
Vice President/Chief Financial Officer for Darden, who is being promoted to
Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer. Drew Madsen, 45, Executive
Vice President of Marketing for Olive Garden, is being promoted to President of
the leading Italian casual dining company, reporting to Blum; and Edna Morris,
50, Executive Vice President for Red Lobster, is being promoted to President of
the casual dining seafood leader, reporting to Rivera.
These promotions, which will be effective April 1, will change the
reporting structure for Darden's senior management team:
o In addition to Madsen, also reporting to Blum will be:
- Bob Mock, President, Smokey Bones
- Barry Moullet, Sr. VP, Purchasing, Distribution & Food Safety
o In addition to Morris, also reporting to Rivera will be:
- Gary Heckel, President, Bahama Breeze
- Laurie Burns, Sr. VP, Development
o Reporting to Otis will be:
- Stoddard Crane, VP, Business Growth & Acquisition
- Linda Dimopoulos, Sr. VP/Chief Information Officer
- Bob Faisant, VP, Taxes
- Steve Helsel, Sr. VP/Controller
- Jim Ingersoll, VP, Internal Audit
- Bill White, VP/Treasurer
o Continuing to report to Lee will be:
- Blaine Sweatt, President, New Business Development, Darden Restaurants
- Dan Lyons, Sr. VP, Human Resources, Darden Restaurants
- Paula Shives, Sr. VP/General Counsel, Darden Restaurants
- Rick Walsh, Sr. VP, Corporate Relations, Darden Restaurants
"We are very excited about these significant organizational changes," said
Lee. "We have the very best leadership and management teams in casual dining.
The timing for this is right because Olive Garden and Red Lobster are performing
very well with positive momentum, Bahama Breeze and Smokey Bones are off to a
strong start and we are even more focused on additional expansion opportunities
in casual dining, both through internal development and acquisition."
"These changes allow us to leverage the skills of our diverse team of
strong leaders and build an even stronger, broader platform that maximizes the
already dynamic teamwork we have across the organization," Lee added. "Our
objective is to build a fully integrated operating company that achieves
consistent, outstanding long-term growth."
Darden Restaurants, Inc., in Orlando, FL, is the world's largest casual
dining operator and currently owns and operates 1,194 Red Lobster, Olive Garden,
Bahama Breeze and Smokey Bones BBQ Sports Bar restaurants in North America.
Forward-looking statements in this news release, if any, are made under the
Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Certain important factors could cause results to differ materially from those
anticipated by the forward-looking statements, including the impact of changing
economic or business conditions, the impact of competition, the availability of
favorable credit and trade terms, the impact of changes in the cost or
availability of food and real estate, government regulation, construction costs,
weather conditions and other factors discussed from time to time in reports
filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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