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Darden Restaurants
From SourceWatch
Darden Restaurants, owners of Red Lobster and Olive Garden, is the largest casual-dining restaurant company in the U.S. It has over 1,320 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. It also has the Bahama Breeze, Smokey Bones, and Seasons 52 branded restaurants. [1] [2]
Contents |
Ad boycott against Air America Radio
Darden Restaurants refused to advertise on the progressive Air America Radio. In October 2006, around 90 companies, including Darden Restaurants' Red Lobster, told ABC Radio Networks that they did not want their ads to play on radio stations that carried Air America Radio. [3] [4] [5]
Political contributions
Darden Restaurants gave $237,381 to federal candidates in the 2006 election through its political action committee - 23% to Democrats and 76% to Republicans. [6]
Lobbying
The company spent $60,000 for lobbying in 2006. The lobbying was done using in-house lobbyists. [7]
Personnel
| Key executives and 2007 pay: [8] | Options exercised |
|||
| Clarence Otis, Jr., Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | $1,670,000 | $1,410,000 | ||
| Andrew H. Madsen, Chief Operating Officer | $N/A | $N/A | ||
| C. Bradford Richmond, Chief Financial Officer | $547,000 | $N/A | ||
| Dave Pickens, President of Olive Garden | N/A | N/A | ||
| Linda Dimopoulos, Senior Vice President of Finance | $774,000 | $1,420,000 |
Selected board members: [9]
- Leonard L. Berry, Professor of Marketing, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University
- Charles A. Ledsinger, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, Choice Hotels International, Inc.
- Rita P. Wilson, Retired President, Allstate Indemnity Company, a subsidiary of Allstate Insurance Company
Contact details
5900 Lake Ellenor Drive
Orlando, FL 32809
Phone: 407-245-4000
Fax: 407-245-5389
Web: http://www.dardenrestaurants.com
References
- ↑ Darden Restaurants Profile, Hoovers, accessed August 2007.
- ↑ Home page, Darden Restaurants, accessed August 2007.
- ↑ Marc Fisher, "Air America, in the Throes of Victory?", The Washington Post, December 10, 2006.
- ↑ "Air America on Ad Blacklist?", FAIR, October 31, 2006.
- ↑ "Air America Blackout", FAIR.org/ABC memo, October 25, 2006.
- ↑ 2006 PAC Summary Data, Open Secrets, accessed August 2007.
- ↑ Darden Restaurants lobbying expenses, Open Secrets, accessed October 2007.
- ↑ Darden Key Executives, Yahoo Finance, accessed October 2007.
- ↑ Board of Directors, pg 21, Darden Restaurants, accessed August 2007.
