Horace Dawson has been promoted to the position of chief executive officer of the Red Lobster seafood restaurant chain and joined the Orlando, Florida-headquartered company’s board of directors. For the past nine years he has been executive vice president and general counsel of Red Lobster, where he was in charge of legal affairs and was responsible for communications, risk management and government relations.
The 30-year restaurant industry veteran’s scope of experience includes serving as vice president and division general counsel for Darden Restaurants, and as vice president of business affairs and general counsel of Hard Rock Cafe International.
Dawson is an active and well-respected leader in the restaurant industry, serving on the boards of directors of the National Restaurant Association, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, Restaurant Law Center, and Stronger America Through Seafood.
“I am very excited to be stepping into the role of CEO for Red Lobster,” said Dawson, who earned Law and MBA degrees from Harvard University. “This is an important time for our brand. We are continuing to evolve our menu and guest experience to give our guests more of what they want every time they visit one of our restaurants.”
In addition to Dawson’s appointment, the company has also announced that Paul Kenny has been named as Red Lobster’s chairman of the board. He has over 50 years of experience in the food industry, most recently holding positions as chief executive officer and executive advisor of the Minor Food Group and serving as a director on the board of Minor International.
“I have served on the Red Lobster Board for several years and strongly believe that Horace is the right leader for this iconic brand at this time in the company’s history and I look forward to continuing a strong and productive working relationship,” said Kenny.
Red Lobster is ranked as the world’s largest seafood restaurant company. It operates more than 700 units in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, Ecuador and elsewhere.
