Susan Connelly
Senior Vice President, Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer at 
DARDEN RESTAURANTS
DARDEN RESTAURANTSExecutive
About Susan Connelly
Susan M. Connelly (age 54) is Senior Vice President, Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer of Darden Restaurants, responsible for corporate and brand communications, digital marketing, government relations/public policy, philanthropy, community engagement, and sustainability; she has served in this role since June 2019 and joined Darden in 2007 . During her tenure on the executive team, Darden delivered FY2025 net earnings of $1.05B, diluted EPS of $8.88 (Adjusted EPS $9.55), 2.0% same-restaurant sales growth, and 11.3% TSR (EPS growth plus dividend yield), providing a favorable pay-for-performance backdrop across the enterprise .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darden Restaurants | SVP, Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer | 2019–present | Oversees enterprise communications, policy, sustainability, and community strategy across >2,100 restaurants . |
| Darden Restaurants | SVP, Communications & Corporate Affairs | 2015–2019 | Led communications and corporate affairs, aligning external engagement with business objectives . |
| Darden Restaurants | VP, Government Relations | 2014–2015 | Led government relations, community affairs, and sustainability functions . |
| Darden Restaurants | Director, State & Local Government Relations | 2007–2014 | Built state/local advocacy capabilities and external engagement . |
| McDonald’s USA | Government Relations Manager (Eastern U.S.) | 2006–2007 | Directed state/local advocacy for Eastern U.S. markets . |
| Grocery Manufacturers Association | Director, State Affairs | 2001–2006 | Primary legislative/regulatory advocate in the Northeast . |
| Massachusetts House of Representatives | Chief of Staff, Judiciary Committee | 1997–2001 | Led staff, legislative research and testimony drafting for committee leadership . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Restaurant Association | Board member | n/d | Industry leadership and policy engagement . |
| Florida Chamber of Commerce | Board member | n/d | State-level business advocacy . |
| Suffolk University | Board of Trustees (Charter Trustee) | 2017–present | Governance for alma mater; MBA from Suffolk’s Sawyer Business School . |
| National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation | Trustee | n/d | Workforce development focus . |
Fixed Compensation
- Not disclosed for Ms. Connelly individually in Darden’s latest proxy; she is not a Named Executive Officer (NEO) in the DEF 14A. Company describes NEO base salaries and governance but provides no base/bonus details specific to Ms. Connelly .
Performance Compensation
- Darden’s executive incentive architecture (as disclosed for NEOs) centers on a pay-for-performance mix with annual and long-term incentives; while Ms. Connelly’s specific targets/payouts are not disclosed, the structure informs alignment for senior executives broadly .
Annual Incentive Plan Design (FY2025 – NEO program)
| Metric | Weight | Target | FY2025 Result | Payout vs Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darden Adjusted Diluted Net EPS | 70% | $9.48 | $9.55 | 100% |
| Darden Same-Restaurant Sales (SRS) | 30% | 1.9% | 2.0% | 100% |
Long-Term Incentive Program (NEO program, grant FY2025)
| Instrument | Weight | Vesting | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance Stock Units (PSUs) | 50% | 50% vests at 3rd anniversary; 50% at 4th | Payout 0–200% based on relative TSR vs S&P 500 constituents at grant . |
| Stock Options | 25% | 50% vests at 3rd anniversary; 50% at 4th; 10-year term | Price appreciation aligned . |
| RSUs | 25% | 100% vests at 3rd anniversary | Time-based retention . |
Performance Outcome Context (for 3-year PSUs granted FY2023 to NEOs)
| PSU Cycle | TSR Percentile vs S&P 500 | Earned % |
|---|---|---|
| FY2023–FY2025 | 84th percentile | 200% |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Insider trading and ownership signals:
- Jan 6, 2025: Sold 9,264 shares at ~$184.68 (≈$1.71M); simultaneously exercised options (5,428 @ $78.84; 3,836 @ $85.83); post-transaction holdings reported at 4,567 shares .
- Jun 24, 2025: Third-party tracker shows 4,602 shares held (data derived from Form 4 history) .
- Oct 29, 2025: Reported a bona fide gift of 600 shares to a donor-advised fund; subsequent beneficial ownership shown as 6,698.314 shares (includes ESPP shares and dividend reinvestment) .
Darden Alignment Policies
- Hedging/pledging: All officers and directors are prohibited from hedging transactions and from pledging company securities or holding them in margin accounts, which reduces misalignment and forced-selling risk .
- Stock ownership: Robust executive officer stock ownership requirements with mandatory holding of net shares until guidelines are met; policy disclosed for executives broadly (NEO multiples shown as reference), supporting alignment but Ms. Connelly’s required multiple and compliance status are not individually disclosed .
Employment Terms
- Employment agreements: Darden states it does not have employment agreements with NEOs; no employment contract for Ms. Connelly is disclosed in the proxy .
- Severance (general practice): Upon involuntary termination without cause, an executive officer may receive up to 12 months of base salary and up to 12 months of company health contribution value, contingent on a release; equity sees pro-rata acceleration for awards granted on/after July 29, 2020 (options exercisable up to lesser of five years or remaining term), indicating broader severance norms that may inform retention risk, though Ms. Connelly-specific terms are not disclosed .
- Change-in-control (CIC): CIC agreements are in place for the NEOs with 1.5x–2.0x salary+target bonus and health benefit multiples on a double-trigger basis; no CIC agreement is disclosed for Ms. Connelly, so such protections are unknown/not indicated for her .
- Clawback: Company maintains a clawback policy for incentive-based compensation in the event of a financial restatement (applies to executive officers) .
Company Performance Context (FY2025)
| Metric | FY2025 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Diluted net EPS (GAAP) | $8.88 | EPS growth central to pay design and TSR definition . |
| Adjusted Diluted EPS | $9.55 | Adjusted for Chuy’s transaction/integration, dispositions, closures . |
| Net earnings (cont. ops) | $1.05B | Profitability backdrop . |
| Net cash from operations | $1.7B | Cash generation capacity . |
| Capital return | $1.1B | Dividends + buybacks . |
| Same-restaurant sales (ex-Chuy’s/Ruth’s) | 2.0% | In AIP metrics . |
| Sales (Revenue) | $12.1B | Scale supporting incentives . |
| TSR (EPS growth + dividend yield) | 11.3% | Performance metric for context . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Education: BA, English (St. Anselm College); MBA, Suffolk University Sawyer Business School .
- Domain: Public policy, government relations, strategic communications, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement across large-scale, multi-brand restaurant operations .
Compensation Structure Analysis (signals)
- Program design stability: Darden maintained its FY2025 AIP and LTIP structures from FY2024—indicative of consistent, measurable performance linkage rather than ad hoc discretion .
- Risk mitigants: No excise tax gross-ups, no option repricing, clawback policy, and hedging/pledging prohibitions—shareholder-friendly features that limit misalignment .
- Say-on-Pay: 95.17% approval at the 2024 annual meeting, reinforcing investor support for the program framework .
Investment Implications
- Insider activity: Ms. Connelly was a net seller in early 2025 (notably a ~$1.71M sale alongside option exercises) and made a 600-share gift in Oct 2025; her beneficial holdings appear modest in absolute terms, which can imply limited incremental selling pressure from her personally and may more likely reflect liquidity/tax planning around option exercises than a directional signal on fundamentals .
- Retention/contract risk: No individual employment or CIC agreement is disclosed for Ms. Connelly, whereas NEOs have defined double-trigger CIC protections; combined with Darden’s general severance norms (up to 12 months base salary for exec officers), this suggests standard governance without bespoke retention devices for her, reducing shareholder cost risk but offering less visibility into her personal retention protections .
- Alignment: Company-wide stock ownership requirements and prohibitions on hedging/pledging, plus a stable, TSR-linked LTIP design, support alignment; the FY2025 enterprise results (Adjusted EPS, SRS, TSR) align with target payouts in the NEO plan, indicating that executive incentives broadly were not paying above target without performance—positive for pay-for-performance credibility .
Notes and sources
- Executive listing and age: “Executive Officers of the Registrant” (lists Susan M. Connelly, age 54) .
- Role scope and history, external boards, education: Darden executive bio page ; Suffolk University Trustees page .
- FY2025 performance and compensation program details: DRI DEF 14A 2025 (Executive Summary, CD&A, AIP metrics/results, LTIP design) .
- Governance and policies (hedging/pledging, clawback, ownership guidelines, say-on-pay): DRI DEF 14A 2025 .
- Insider transactions and holdings: Form 4 coverage and summaries .