“To me your strengths are infinite, I will focus on two:
Grow Individuals & Teams: basically every ABM marketer at Darden has voices a desire to me directly to work for you on your team because you are skilled at developing talent and helping them and the organization recognize their potential.

Own It: you have unique and unduplicated expertise in creative and media at Darden. The expertise you possess, particularly in media, is unduplicated by any Brand Director I’ve ever worked with in my 20+ years of marketing. This expertise allows you to understand the impact of your actions, to course correct when necessary to shift gears whenever necessary. Having that expertise is an invaluable asset for me as a leader of the team, but what’s perhaps more impressive is your willingness to share that expertise. You mentor your team, you mentor me, you mentor other talent on other brands. You share your knowledge freely and without condition

Your diverse marketing career having touched Consumer Insights, Media, Food Development, Merchandising, Creative, Digital, e-Commerce, etc. make you uniquely positioned to succeed in a broader generalist marketing role.”

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

“You are a role model on Getting Better Everyday. You are constantly raising the bar for yourself, your team, and our agencies. I never have to worry about asking you to plan for what’s around the corner because you are always ahead of the game and planning for challenges further down the road.

You are also a role model for the team on the winning behavior Own It. I have never heard an excuse uttered from you. I know you are as committed to delivering marketing that will drive guests into our restaurants as the Executive Team is. You act with a high sense of urgency, always the first to respond if a problem arises, always the first to attack tough challenges head-on.”

“Over the past year, we have continued to face a complicated and unpredictable environment, and I am proud of how we have managed through the challenges we have encountered. Together, we have achieved strong business results that demonstrate the power of our strategy […]. Recognizing and rewarding great talent is an important pillar of our culture. In special recognition of your extraordinary contributions to Darden, I am pleased to present you with [monetary award]. On behalf of the entire senior leadership team, please accept our sincere gratitude and appreciation for the pivotal role you play at our company.”

“You are being recognized for taking on the accountability for producing all of Olive Garden’s advertising creative. Your work results have been exemplary, and our advertising agency said that you never missed a beat. In fact, the agency has repeatedly praised you for delivering strategically sound and clear briefs and for being a true partner in the creative process. You also took on the responsibility for managing our national TV media buy, an enormous challenge for a relatively new director. In this area, too, you excelled, delivering a media plan that enabled us to achieve our plan in a very tough media inflation year.”

“The catering delivery team was nothing short of brilliant. They went above and beyond to innovate a catering delivery business nationally in only 16 weeks - and just in time for our peak holiday season! They owned the business solving problem with what they had, not what they wish they had, creating a superior product and service value proposition that has increased Olive Garden relevancy across a broad range of life stages and occasions.”