Black History Month Honoree: CEO of Darden Restaurants

Who is the Chief Executive Officer of Darden Restaurants, Inc., the largest casual dining restaurant in the world? Who is Clarence Otis, Jr.? You've guessed it from the articles' title, haven't you? If not, I'll answer both questions for you.

Clarence Otis, Jr. is the Chairman and CEO of Darden Restaurants, Inc. The company's website boasts being the largest based on market share, annual sales and the number of company-owned. The website also says, "We operate over 1,700 restaurants including Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze and Seasons 52. We are proud to employ approximately 170,000 people who help serve over 350 million meals annually. Almost all Darden restaurants are company-owned and operated."

Chairman and CEO states: "Darden is the Company it is today because we place no limits on what we believe we can achieve. Like Bill Darden, Joe Lee and the others who founded our Company, we are willing to dream big dreams, and we are united by a strong, value-based culture."

Otis dreamed big dreams and achieved them. He was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was six years old. The family lived in Watts at the time of the 1965 riots. His father was a high school dropout who worked as a janitor.

Otis said, "I grew up in a tough neighborhood. I was born in '56, and the riots were in '65. I can still see the National Guard, with bayonets at the end of their rifles. I remember when I was in high school being pulled over by the police, guns drawn, told to get on the ground. There were elements of a police state. But if you were bright, you had a lot of people heavily invested in making sure you had opportunity. My parents were very achievement-oriented and believed you could become whatever you wanted to be. I always believed major companies had significant leverage and that they could make profound differences. So if you had the ability to shape the direction of a major company, then you could make a social difference. "

A high school guidance counselor recommended him for a scholarship at Williams College, the highly selective liberal arts institution in Massachusetts. Otis graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams in 1977 and went on to earn a law degree at Stanford in 1980.

Otis landed on Wall Street as a merger and acquisitions attorney for J.P. Morgan Securities. He joined Darden Restaurants in 1995 as corporate treasurer. He became CEO in 2004.

Otis continued, "When I first interviewed [to become treasurer] at Darden, I felt, here's an organization that is pretty multidimensional compared to Wall Street. I liked the mass appeal of the brands, the fact that they really were pervasive. And you've got this broad employee base that was diverse in every respect, in an industry where folks can really go from entry level to the top. And it was an organization that was earnest. It had humility that I was comfortable with."

Remember one of the beatitudes which states: "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth?" Forbes reported Otis' total compensation in 2006 as $1.91mil. This modest salary ranked his #423 among other CEO's salaries in the nation.

Respecting his achievements, I honor Clarence Otis, Jr. as my honoree for Black History Month, 2008. With total disregard for his race, Otis is deserving of honor based on merit alone. I feel many would agree with me.

* The Company's website, Forbes and Business Week provided information for this article.