This year’s Black History Month is made more significant with a milestone achievement in the foodservice industry. There are now, not one or two, but 6 Black CEOs at the helm of these major restaurants: Darden Restaurants (which owns Red Lobster and Olive Garden), Bob Evans, McDonald's, Potbelly's, Jamba Juice and Jack-in-the-Box.
While the appointment of these CEOs occurred over a period of time, the culminating point was reached this January 1, 2014, with the announcement of a new Black CEO at Jack-in-the-Box - a popular fastfood restaurant chain on the west coast.
Here are their names:
Clarence Otis, Jr., CEO of Darden Restaurants
Steven A. Davis, CEO of Bob Evans
Don Thompson, CEO of McDonald’s Corporation
Aylwin B. Lewis, CEO of Potbelly’s
James D. White, CEO of Jamba Juice
Leonard A. Comma, CEO of Jack-in-the-Box.
The six are being congratulated by the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance (MFHA), an organization that connects the multicultural food service community. Each year, they recognize leaders of Black/African-American, Asian Pacific- American and Hispanic/Latino heritage, and they honor these leaders through a series of “Tribute” ads, appearing in full color, full page ads published in Nation’s Restaurant News.
Also featured in the ads are key Senior and other C-suite executives from member companies: AdvancePierre Foods, the Coca-Cola Company, Compass Group North America, Darden, Focus Brands, Inc., General Mills, Kellogg Company, PepsiCo, Starbucks Coffee Company, Sodexo, and Yum! Brands.
For more details about the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance, visit www.mfha.net
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