Darden Announces Departure of Chief Marketing Officer JJ Buettgen

Darden Restaurants

today announced that JJ Buettgen has resigned from his position as chief marketing officer at the company, effective immediately, to become president and CEO of Ruby Tuesday, Inc. "We understand and respect JJ's desire to lead an organization and we wish him well in his new endeavor," said Drew Madsen, president and COO of Darden. "When we created the CMO position two years ago, we did so with an eye toward establishing a marketing structure that enables stronger integration, greater innovation and accelerated growth across the enterprise. During his tenure, JJ helped successfully implement that structure while building a solid foundation of marketing talent across our brands. Led by strong marketing leaders, we're confident that our brand teams are well positioned to continue driving their respective growth strategies. Meanwhile, the enterprise marketing function will remain focused on long-term growth initiatives and report to me until a new CMO is named."