Dave Pickens began his Darden career 35 years ago as a line cook at the Red Lobster in Nashville, Tenn.  Today, he is President of Olive Garden and has served in this role since December 2004.  He leads a company with 670 restaurants, more than 80,000 employees and $3.1 billion in annual sales.
 
 Since joining Olive Garden in 1995, Pickens' focus and passion for delivering a competitively superior dining experience to Olive Garden guests has led to best-ever guest satisfaction results and industry-leading returns.  His leadership has also played a key role in Olive Garden's unprecedented streak of 56 consecutive quarters of same-restaurant sales increases.
 
 Pickens began with Darden Restaurants in April 1973 as a Red Lobster hourly employee.  He progressed from manager trainee to regional operations manager, director of operations, and ultimately to a division senior vice president for the restaurant company.  He later joined Olive Garden in 1995 as senior vice president of operations for the Orlando division and was promoted to executive vice president of operations in September 1999.
 
 As executive vice president of operations, Dave was noted for his personal commitment to the Olive Garden principles and his balanced approach to translating an excellent guest and team member experience into strong financial results.
 
 Today, Dave is well known for his collaborative work style, strong commitment to the Olive Garden principles and his ability to develop leaders.  He currently serves on the board for Camp Boggy Creek, an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children who have chronic or life threatening illnesses.  He also serves on the board for the Orlando Culinary Academy.  
 
 Pickens lives in Orlando, Fla. with his wife and daughter.  He enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family.