Brinker Slates Wyman Roberts For CEO

Wyman Roberts, president of Chili’s Grill & Bar, will add the title of CEO and president of Brinker Int’l. on Jan. 1. He’ll succeed Doug Brooks, who joined Brinker two years after its 1975 founding and will continue to serve as chairman of the board through December 2013. In addition to his new responsibilities, Roberts will retain his office at Chili’s.

Roberts has been president of Chili’s since ’09 after four years as president of the company’s Maggiano’s Little Italy brand. Before joining the Dallas company, Roberts was executive v.p./chief marketing officer for NBC’s Universal Parks and Resorts. He also spent 17 years in senior-level positions at Darden Restaurants.

During Brooks’ 35-year career at Brinker, the company grew from three restaurants in a single state to 1,585 outlets in 33 countries.