Clarence Otis Jr. was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Darden Restaurants, Inc., the world’s largest full service restaurant operating company. In this role, Otis leveraged his extensive experience of over 20 years at Darden Restaurants into a range of senior management positions.Otis started at Darden in 1995 as Vice President and Treasurer. Following that position, Otis became Chief Financial Officer and then President of Smokey Bones. Prior to joining Darden, Otis was Managing Director and Co-Director of the Municipal Securities Group for Chemical Securities, Inc. (now JP Morgan Securities, Inc.).

In 2007, Otis was presented with a “Horatio Alger Award” by and inducted as a lifetime member of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.