Twelve ways into the largest full-service restaurant company in America.

Same pattern as First Watch, at a much larger scale: no founder, family, or private-equity owner. Darden was spun off from General Mills in 1995 and has been fully public since. Ownership is institutional index and active-fund money — nobody to court as an owner-operator.

5%+ stockholders, per the DEF 14A filed August 10, 2026 (114,077,969 shares outstanding, record date May 31, 2026)

Leadership & board ownership (as of May 31, 2026)

Almost entirely vested options and RSUs, not open-market purchases. At a $13B+ revenue company, insider ownership under 1% is normal — this is a professionally managed, board-governed public company with zero owner-operator to reach through personal relationship.

FY2026 (ended ~May 31, 2026): total sales $13.21B, up 9.4% YoY. HQ: 1000 Darden Center Drive, Orlando, FL 32837. ~187,000 employees system-wide.

Darden deliberately splits the Chair and CEO roles — a governance detail worth knowing before any conversation that reaches the board level.

Board also includes M. Shan Atkins, Juliana L. Chugg (former Mattel exec), James P. Fogarty (CEO, FULLBEAUTY Brands), Daryl A. Kenningham (CEO, Group 1 Automotive), William S. Simon (former Walmart U.S. CEO; also served on Home Depot, Big Lots, and Tractor Supply boards), Charles M. Sonsteby, and Timothy J. Wilmott (also served on HanesBrands, Chico's FAS, and GameStop boards). Source: DEF 14A filed Aug 10, 2026.

This is the most actionable section in the dossier — it tells Lorie exactly where Darden already has vendor relationships (don't compete there) and exactly which administrative door has to be opened before any purchase order can be cut.

Sources: AppsRunTheWorld technographic profile, Infosys client case study ("Infosys Drives Digital Transformation at Darden Restaurants," quoting Chris Chang), Darden FY2026 Form 10-K (filed with the SEC).

Ranked roughly from "do this first, it's a prerequisite" to "longer-range plays." Each is tied to a verified fact above.

1. Get into the Coupa/APEX/FirstStrike vendor pipeline before pitching anythingAt this scale, being liked isn't enough — Connection needs to be a registered, approved supplier before any PO can move. Start this in parallel with relationship-building, not after.
2. Lead with the Chuy's integration, not an enterprise RFP101–103 newly acquired locations across 15 states need network, POS-adjacent hardware, and security brought up to Darden standard. This is a scoped, budgeted, time-boxed project — a realistic first deal size, unlike a company-wide pitch.
3. Approach Todd Burrowes's team, not just ITBurrowes is the Group President directly accountable for the Chuy's integration. A proposal framed around his deliverable (get Chuy's onto Darden standard) travels further than a cold approach to central IT.
4. Stay out of the Oracle Commerce / Infosys laneGuest-facing digital ordering and commerce is an active, named Infosys engagement. Competing there head-on wastes the first meeting. Hardware, network, security, and device lifecycle are open lanes an SI like Infosys typically doesn't resell.
5. Target device lifecycle and back-of-house hardware refreshAcross 2,202 locations and 9 brands, kitchen and POS-adjacent hardware refresh is a continuous, high-volume, repeatable category — Connection's core reseller strength.
6. Open with the new General Counsel, Lindsay Koren, on vendor-risk termsA new compliance chief (Feb 2026) is a natural moment to have Connection's security/compliance credentials reviewed and pre-cleared, ahead of any specific deal.
7. Use the FY2026 10-K's own language on AI and supply-chain cyber riskDarden's board-approved risk disclosure already names this as a growing concern. Frame a security or vendor-risk conversation around addressing a risk category the company itself just elevated — not a manufactured pitch.
8. Approach the Specialty Restaurant Group (M. John Martin) separately from mass-market brandsCapital Grille, Eddie V's, and Seasons 52 (44+74+31 units) are a smaller, higher-margin, more centrally-run cluster — a plausible pilot scope distinct from Olive Garden/LongHorn's much larger footprint.
9. Time outreach around the Sept 23, 2026 Annual MeetingExpect renewed public commentary on strategic priorities from Cardenas and the board around that date — a natural, current news hook for an outreach email or call.
10. Go local, not to a national conferenceNo confirmed Darden executive speaking slot exists at any 2026 restaurant-tech conference. Darden's entire leadership works out of the Orlando Restaurant Support Center — Orlando-based CIO/IT-leader networking (Orlando Business Journal, Central Florida technology council events) is a more realistic face-to-face path than travel to a national show.
11. Check for warm intros through Darden alumniDarden is one of the largest employers in Central Florida with enormous historical turnover at the management level; check Connection's own employee base and Lorie's network for anyone with prior Darden, Red Lobster, or Olive Garden corporate experience who can make a direct introduction.
12. Set first-deal expectations to match a SOX-controlled enterprise, not a mid-market accountPenetration testing is required for new integrations and vendor onboarding runs through three separate systems (Coupa, APEX, FirstStrike). Plan for a multi-quarter qualification cycle before the first PO, and use a single-brand or single-region pilot as the reference case to expand into the other eight brands.

Unlike First Watch's leadership, which is scattered across the Sarasota–Bradenton corridor, Darden's entire executive team works out of one place: the Orlando Restaurant Support Center. This dossier reports city-level, professional locations only — it deliberately does not pursue home addresses or personal social-media profiling of individual executives.

HQ address: 1000 Darden Center Drive, Orlando, FL 32837. All corporate officers are disclosed in the DEF 14A as reachable at this address; individual home locations were not researched.

In the spirit of not handing Lorie anything unverified: two leads were run down and rejected during this research.