Restaurants
10 Olive Garden executives
These ten current and former Olive Garden executives and vice presidents have held senior titles at Olive Garden itself or in Olive Garden roles at Darden. Readers can learn how leaders at the brand think about restaurant operations, marketing and finance decisions.
Professionals to explore
01—10Brad Richmond
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President, Finance and Controller · Olive Garden
Former Senior Vice President, Finance and Controller at Olive Garden (1998–2003). He is currently a Board Member at BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (since 2024), WCI Entertainment (since 2023), Coast Entertainment Holdings (since 2017) and Qualfon (since 2017).
Dave George
LinkedInExperience: President - Olive Garden · Darden
Former President - Olive Garden at Darden (2013–2018) and former Chief Operations Officer at Darden (2018–2020). He was also President - LongHorn Steakhouse at Darden (2007–2013), is listed as a Retired Corporate Executive at Darden since 2020, and has been a Member Board of Directors at Bloomin' Brands, Inc. since 2024.
Jaime Allen Bunker
LinkedInExperience: SVP Head of Marketing, Olive Garden · Olive Garden
SVP Head of Marketing, Olive Garden since March 2022. The profile's other Darden roles include VP of Marketing, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen (2017–2022), VP Brand Management (2014–2022) and Director Brand Management - Specialty Restaurant Group (2012–2014).
Jenny Hanson
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President Operations · Olive Garden
Senior Vice President Operations at Olive Garden since February 2015. Her profile also lists Director of Culinary and Beverage Operations at Olive Garden (2014–2015), Director of Operations at Darden (2012–2014) and Director of Operations at Romano's Macaroni Grill (2010–2011).
Kelly Lynch, MBA
LinkedInExperience: Divisional Vice President · Olive Garden
Divisional Vice President at Olive Garden since February 2025, also listed as Division Vice President at Darden. The Olive Garden rows include Senior Director of Operations (2024–2025), Director Of Operations (2022–2024) and Human Resources Operations Manager (2017–2022), and the profile describes hiring managers to lead Olive Garden restaurants in states including New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia.
Kevin Kalicak
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President of Finance - Olive Garden · Darden
Former Senior Vice President of Finance - Olive Garden at Darden, in a Darden entry dated February 1997 to August 2026 whose description lists Senior Vice President, Finance - Olive Garden from 2024 and Senior Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations from 2021 to 2024. He has been Chief Financial Officer at Portillo's since September 2026.
Laura Israel
LinkedInExperience: Vice President Marketing - Media & Communications, Olive Garden · Darden
Former Vice President Marketing - Media & Communications, Olive Garden at Darden (2022–2024), and Head of Marketing Vice President, Chuy's at Darden since November 2024. Her LongHorn Steakhouse roles at Darden include Director of Brand Marketing - Digital Guest Experience & Digital Marketing (2019–2022) and Brand Manager of Digital Marketing and TV Media (2017–2019).
Tom Nadel
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President Operations, Olive Garden · Olive Garden
Former Senior Vice President Operations, Olive Garden (2016–2021); his Olive Garden rows also include Director of Operations (2001–2013) and General Manager (1996–2001). He has been Senior Vice President Operations at OTG Management since November 2021, and his profile describes Darden experience with both Olive Garden and Red Lobster in restaurant operations and project management.
Val Collins
LinkedInExperience: SVP Finance, Red Lobster (1998 - 2002) and SVP Finance, Olive Garden (1996 - 1998) · Darden
Former SVP Finance, Olive Garden (1996–1998) and SVP Finance, Red Lobster (1998–2002) at Darden. At Darden she also held SVP Chief Information Officer (2002–2006), SVP Corporate Controller (2006–2012) and SVP, Finance (2012–2014), and her profile describes finance and technology leadership roles across a 29-year career with Darden Restaurants.
Valerie Insignares
LinkedInExperience: Executive Vice President, Operations - Olive Garden · Darden
Former Executive Vice President, Operations - Olive Garden at Darden (2004–2011). At Darden she also held Chief Restaurant Operations Officer (2011–2013) and President, LongHorn Steakhouse (2013–2015), and she was a Member Board Of Directors at Del Taco (2021–2022) and a Franchisee of MidiCi The Neapolitan Pizza Company (2017–2020).
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's function, whether operations, marketing or finance, to the decision you are working on, since each function sees a different side of the business. Check role dates to know whether someone's Olive Garden experience is current or from an earlier period.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How does Olive Garden decide which menu, promotion or operating changes to roll out across its restaurants?
- 02What do Olive Garden's operations leaders look for when evaluating a new supplier, technology or staffing model?
- 03How does Olive Garden's marketing team balance national campaigns with traffic goals for individual restaurants?
Reaching Olive Garden executives
How can I contact one of these Olive Garden executives?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 2 companies: Olive Garden and Darden, based on profile data retrieved on September 29, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
How much does it cost to reach Olive Garden executives?
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About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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