In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Rick Cardenas, the CEO of Darden Restaurants. This is the fourth edition in our Signature Series — in partnership with The Coca-Cola Company — which are conversations with some of the biggest CEOs in the restaurant industry. Rick started as a bus boy at Red Lobster when he was 16 years old, and over the course of four decades he climbed the entire ladder of the company that would become Darden, rising to the chief executive role in May of 2022. He joined the podcast to talk not only about Darden’s growth strategy and the role the company plays in the lives of its loyal customers, but also about his remarkable career and the lessons that restaurant employees of all types can pull from it.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• Every restaurant has employees who have the ability to grow and develop
• The broader your experience, the better a leader you become
• As a leader, you either play not to lose or you play to win
• If you’re not getting passed over for jobs, then you’re not dreaming big enough 
• As you scale, you should lean into what you know
• You don’t have to sacrifice your values in order to innovate
• Your employees create your culture, so invest in them accordingly

Register for CREATE, our event for emerging restaurateurs, by clicking here. 

Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at [email protected].