ORLANDO, FLA.  — Horace Dawson has been promoted to chief executive officer for Red Lobster. Dawson has served as the company’s executive vice president and general counsel since 2014.

Before his tenure began with Red Lobster, Dawson was vice president and division general counsel for Darden Restaurants Inc. and vice president of business affairs and general counsel of Hard Rock Cafe International.

Dawson received his undergraduate, law and master of business administration degrees from Harvard University. 

“I am very excited to be stepping into the role of CEO for Red Lobster,” Dawson said. “This is an important time for our brand. We are continuing to evolve our menu and guest experience to give our guests more of what they want every time they visit one of our restaurants. We have some of the most passionate customers and dedicated employees in the restaurant industry and I am looking forward to working with my teams to address the challenges we face in light of industry headwinds and to execute on our plans and deliver results.”