Dive Brief:
- Bloomin’ Brands hired Eric Christel as executive vice president, chief financial officer-elect. Long-time executive Michael Healy will shift from the CFO role to become Bloomin’s first EVP of strategy and transformation, the company announced Monday.
- Christel will be confirmed as the full CFO in September, following a transition period.
- The company announced several other executive changes: Jessica Mitory is joining Bloomin’ later this month as senior vice president and chief human resources officer; John Bettin will come aboard as VP, president of Bonefish Grill in September; Ali Charri has been named SVP, guest insights and analytics; and Randy Scruggs has been promoted to SVP, supply chain.
Dive Insight:
Bloomin’ said the changes were “designed to build capability to support the company’s ongoing business turnaround, focusing on the Outback Steakhouse brand.”
Healy will lead Bloomin’s Outback turnaround strategy in the new role. The 16-year Bloomin’ veteran has experience in operating and corporate finance, supply chain and brand leadership roles, giving him a valuable breadth of expertise.
Healy will be aided in the turnaround effort by Susan Cline, Bloomin’s group vice president of strategy and transformation. Cline has 30 years of restaurant experience, including frontline and managing partner roles at Outback, and leadership positions in Bloomin’s Restaurant Support Center, according to the press release.
Meanwhile, Christel joins Bloomin’ from Campbell’s, where he served as CFO of the snack division. He also spent more than a decade at PepsiCo.
Since announcing the closure of 41 underperforming stores last year, Bloomin’ has made a series of strategic and executive changes intended to buttress the strength of its flagship brand. The company named Michael Spanos — previously a Delta Airlines exec — as CEO last summer, and named a new president for Outback in January of this year. In February, Bloomin’ laid off about 100 corporate employees at its support centers.
The restaurant company also pulled back on restaurant development to focus on simplifying its operations and making other changes at Outback. The slowdown in development was expected to free up $40 million for the turnaround, Healy said at the time. Despite these changes, Bloomin’ reported a 1.3% decline in Outback U.S. comparable sales in the first quarter of 2025, according to its most recent 10-Q.
