Bloomin' Brands names Delta executive new CEO

Bloomin’ Brands Inc., the Tampa company behind Outback Steakhouse and several other national chains, has named Michael Spanos as its new CEO.

Spanos will take over the role Sept. 3 replacing the company’s current chief executive, David Deno, who is retiring and will remain until Dec. 31.

The company announced the hiring and timeline Monday morning.

Spanos moves to Bloomin’ from Delta Air Lines, where he was COO and executive vice president. Before that, he was president and CEO of Six Flags Entertainment and spent more than 25 years at PepsiCo and the Pepsi Bottling Group in various positions including CEO of Asia Middle East and North Africa sector and chief customer officer of North American Beverages.

Michael Mohan, Bloomin’ Brands’ board chair, says in a statement announcing the hiring that “Our board believes that (Spanos') 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.”

Deno announced May 7 that he was retiring from Bloomin’ Brands after 12 years with the company, five of those as CEO.

Deno came to Bloomin’ Brands in 2012 after a stint working at Best Buy as CFO of the electronics retailer’s international division and its president of Asia.

But most of his career was spent in the restaurant industry.

Last year he told the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association in an interview that he first got into the restaurant business in 1982 after earning his MBA from the University of Michigan, starting as a financial analyst for The Pillsbury Co. Pillsbury owned Burger King and Steak and Ale at the time.

Bloomin' Brands operates the Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar chains. In all, it has 1,450 restaurants in 47 states, Guam and 13 countries.