Brad Blum (born 1953) is the Co-Owner of FoodFirst Global Restaurants. He was the Founder, Chairman & CEO of FoodFirst Global Restaurants, Inc., upon the establishment of the company in May 2018. Previously he was the CEO of Burger King from December 2002 to July 2, 2004. He joined the company from Darden Restaurants where he had headed the Olive Garden unit, but left after only 18 months citing strategic differences with Burger King's board. Blum's successor, Greg Brenneman, was appointed on August 1, 2004. Blum was the CEO of Romano's Macaroni Grill from December 2008 to July 2010. Education Blum graduated from Denison University with a BA in Economics and Urban Studies. He continued his formal education by earning an MBA in marketing and finance from Northwestern's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Career General Mills After college, Blum worked with General Mills as a marketing executive. He worked at General Mills on both a national and international level. Blum helped to lead a start-up company called "Cereal Partners Worldwide" (CPW) in Switzerland; they had partnered up with Nestlé for an equal interest in the company, 50/50. Cereal Partners Worldwide is a large international company with sales exceeding $2,500,000 per year. Blum is credited with putting the first female athlete on a Wheaties box (Mary Lou Retton), and with putting the first African American athlete on a Wheaties box (Walter Payton). Blum also invented a new cereal for General Mills: Cinnamon Toast Crunch, the company's most profitable brands Olive Garden Starting in 1994, Blum left General Mills and joined Olive Garden as its executive vice president of marketing. He was later promoted to president. For the next eight years he oversaw Olive Garden's growth. Under Blum's leadership as the chief executive, Olive Garden achieved 57 consecutive quarters of same-restaurant sales increases, with continually increasing profits. The company's restaurant branch average increased by 67 percent during Blum's time there. In 2000, he won the MUFSO (Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators) Operator of the Year, a very high honor within the restaurant industry. In early 2002, he left Olive Garden. Darden Restaurants In March 2002, Blum moved further up the ladder to become Vice Chairman of Darden Restaurants, the owner of the Olive Garden restaurant chain. Because of his leadership, Olive Garden became Darden's most successful and recognizable company. Blum oversaw Olive Garden and Smokey Bones (considered one of Darden's most promising new