SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):
April 20, 1999
Darden Restaurants, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Florida 1-13666 59-3305930
(State or other juris- (Commission file number) (IRS employer
diction of incorporation) identification No.)
5900 Lake Ellenor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32809
(Address of principal executive offices)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code:
(407) 245-4000
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
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Item 5. Other Events.
On April 20, 1999, the Registrant issued two news releases
announcing the hiring of Paula Shives as Senior Vice
President, General Counsel and Secretary, and the upcoming
retirement of Clifford Whitehill-Yarza, the current Senior
Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(c) Exhibits.
Exhibit
Number Description
99 Press Release dated April 20, 1999, entitled "Paula
Shives to become General Counsel for Darden
Restaurants"
99 Press Release dated April 20, 1999, entitled "Darden
Announces Retirement of Clifford Whitehill-Yarza,
Senior Vice President and General Counsel"
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Dated: April 20, 1999 DARDEN RESTAURANTS, INC.
By: /s/ C.L. Whitehill
------------------------------------
C.L. Whitehill
Senior Vice President,
General Counsel and Secretary
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INDEX TO EXHIBITS
Exhibit Number Page
- -------------- ----
99 Press Release dated April 20, 1999, entitled
"Paula Shives to become General Counsel for
Darden Restaurants" 5
99 Press Release dated April 20, 1999, entitled
"Darden Announces Retirement of Clifford
Whitehill-Yarza, Senior Vice President and
General Counsel" 6
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EXHIBIT 99
PAULA SHIVES TO BECOME GENERAL COUNSEL
FOR DARDEN RESTAURANTS
ORLANDO, FL - Paula J. Shives has accepted the post of Senior Vice President,
General Counsel and Secretary for Darden Restaurants, Inc. Presently serving as
General Counsel to Long John Silver's Restaurants, Inc., she will replace Cliff
Whitehill-Yarza, who is retiring after 37 years with the company. She will
become part of the Darden Executive Management team reporting to Joe Lee,
Chairman and CEO.
"Paula is an extraordinary legal talent. She has over 20 years of legal
experience including 15 in the restaurant business, making her uniquely
qualified for her new responsibilities." said Joe Lee, Chairman and CEO. "We are
very fortunate to have her join us and excited about the contributions she will
make to our company."
Ms. Shives, 48, will join Darden Restaurants on May 10th. Following the
completion of several proceedings at Long John Silver's, she will be moving to
Orlando later this summer and will assume responsibility for administrating the
Law Department including matters of board governance, corporate finance,
securities regulation, labor and employment law issues. She holds a bachelor's
degree from Western Kentucky University, a law degree from University of
Kentucky and is active in numerous professional and community organizations. She
joined Long John Silver's Restaurants, Inc. (formerly Jerrico) in 1979 as
Corporate Counsel, and after a hiatus in private practice returned in 1985. She
became Associate General Counsel in 1986 and General Counsel in 1995.
Darden Restaurants, with headquarters in Orlando, Florida, is the world's
largest casual dining company, with 1,136 restaurants operating under the Red
Lobster, Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze brands, over 113,000 employees and
annual sales of $3.3 billion.
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EXHIBIT 99
DARDEN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT OF
CLIFFORD WHITEHILL-YARZA,
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL
ORLANDO, FL - Darden Restaurants, Inc. announced today that Clifford L.
Whitehill-Yarza, 68, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, will
retire this summer after 37 years with the company.
"Cliff has long been an invaluable member of the senior management
team," said Joe R. Lee, Darden Chairman and CEO. "He was part of the acquisition
team when General Mills bought Red Lobster in 1970, and since moving over to the
restaurant business in 1994 has been an integral part of our effort to become
one of the premier casual dining restaurant companies in the world."
Whitehill-Yarza's post will be filled by Paula Shives, currently
General Counsel for Long John Silver's Restaurants, Inc.
Whitehill-Yarza joined General Mills, Inc. in 1962 as an attorney in
the Legal Department. He was named Assistant General Counsel in 1968 and
Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer that same year. He added the title
of company Vice President in 1971 and was elected General Counsel four years
later. The following year he was named a corporate Vice President and became the
company's principal legal officer.
He moved to General Mills' restaurant division in December 1994 as
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and was a key member of the team that
oversaw the spin-off of the company's restaurant operations. He helped establish
Darden Restaurants as a newly-created public restaurant company, and has
continued to serve as a member of the Darden Executive Management Team.
"Cliff has had a distinguished legal and business career. His
impeccable ethics and integrity, his innovative approach to problem solving and
his appreciation for the unique challenges of the restaurant business have
helped Darden Restaurants build a reputation for having the best leaders in the
industry," said Lee.
Throughout his career, Whitehill-Yarza also has been very active in the
community and has held positions with numerous organizations, including:
chairman of the council of Better Business Bureaus; director of the National
Hispanic Scholarship Fund; director of the American Arbitration Association;
trustee of the William Mitchell College of Law; president of the Association of
General Counsel; and director of the United Nations Association of the U.S.A.
A pioneer in the field of dispute resolution, he plans to continue
playing an active role in arbitrating commercial disputes and will stay active
in the Orlando community with his wife, Daisy.
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Darden Restaurants, with headquarters in Orlando, Florida, is the
world's largest casual dining company, with 1,136 restaurants operating under
the Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze brands, over 113,000 employees
and annual sales of $3.3 billion.
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