Ray Blanchette has been a businessman his whole life, and he’s currently serving as the CEO of TGI Fridays. But, what else do you know about Ray Blanchette? Find out more about him, who he is, and what he does with these five fun facts below.
1. Ray graduated with an MBA from Southern Methodist University in 2002. While he received his Masters, he already held the chief operations officer position at Carlson Restaurants. He stayed there for 17 years.
2. He worked his way up to take over as President and CEO of Ignite Restaurant Group, which houses Joe’s Crab Shack and Brick House Tavern + Tap restaurants.
3. Ray spent over a year at Au Bon Pain before transitioning to Ruby Tuesday’s CEO for 9 months. Since 2018, he’s been the CEO of TGI Fridays.
4. He loves giving back to the community. He’s the chair of Dine Out for No Kid Hungry, as well as an advisor on the No Kid Hungry executive board.
5. He won the Golden Chain Award in 2013, and was named Operator of the Year by Nation’s Restaurant News. It makes sense, seeing as he has 30+ years experience in the restaurant industry.
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