Clarence Otis, Jr. ( born April 11, 1956 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA) is an American businessman and CEO of Darden Restaurants. Otis was named the 11th most powerful person in Central Florida by the Orlando Sentinel in 2010.
He gained a scholarship into Williams College in Massachusetts, where he majored in Economics and Political Science. He graduated magna cum laude in 1977, receiving the school's Political Science writing prize and Phi Beta Kappa recognition in his senior year. Otis then moved on to Stanford University Law School in California, earning his Law degree in 1980.
As longtime Darden CEO Joe L. Lee, who opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Florida in 1967, approached retirement. Otis was widely regarded as a protégé of Lee, and after one of his top rivals left for a top position with Burger King, his way was clear. Otis was named Lee's successor as CEO in 2004. |