Delta Air Leader Lands Top Spot at Bloomin’ Brands

Bloomin’ Brands will soon welcome its next CEO.

Michael L. “Mike” Spanos will officially take the role on Sept. 3. He will be based in Tampa, Fla.

Spanos joins the company from Delta Air Lines, where he served as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Prior to Delta, Spanos led Six Flags Entertainment as CEO and president, and he spent more than 25 years at PepsiCo and the Pepsi Bottling Group in positions including president for Greater China, CEO of the Asia Middle East and North Africa sector, and chief customer officer of North American Beverages. He also is a non-executive director at Casey’s General Store, where he is a member of the Audit Committee.

“We have found an ideal strategist, operations and cultural leader in Mike,” says Michael Mohan, chairman of Bloomin’ Brands’ board. “Our board believes that his experience operating complex, multi-unit businesses will benefit our iconic, founder-inspired brands. He has a customer-first mindset for leading established organizations through challenging environments. We look forward to his contributions to Bloomin’ Brands.”

Spanos takes the reins from former CEO David Deno, who was CEO for five years. Deno announced his retirement in May and will serve in a transitional role until Dec. 31.

“He leaves the company with a strengthened financial foundation, a strong balance sheet and a leadership team dedicated to delivering long-term sustainable growth to our shareholders,” Mohan says.

Bloomin’ Brands consists of four founder-inspired brands: Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar. The company owns and operates over 1,450 restaurants in 46 states, Guam and 13 countries, some of which are franchise locations.