MEDIA RESOURCES

Toni and Norman Brinker Establish Hospitality and Restaurant Management Institute at SMU

DALLAS (SMU) -- Renowned restaurateur and businessman Norman Brinker and his wife, Toni, have established the Norman E. Brinker Institute for Hospitality and Restaurant Management at the SMU Cox School of Business. The Brinker Institute will offer certificate programs in general management and leadership development for individuals in the hospitality and restaurant management industries. The institute’s goal is to enhance the business acumen, management skills, and leadership potential of the next-generation of industry leaders.

“The need for sophisticated business leadership in our industry has never been greater,” Norman Brinker said. “Economic trends, unique industry issues, and the increasing pace of change present unparalleled growth opportunities for those individuals with the business knowledge and leadership skills to profit from these opportunities. The new institute at SMU will prepare leaders for an industry that serves the business, recreational, social, and family needs of people around the world.”

 “Norman Brinker is a legendary leader in the restaurant business, and we are delighted to have an institute bearing his name on our campus,” SMU President R. Gerald Turner said. “We are grateful to Toni and Norman Brinker for this generous gift and for their vision in establishing the Brinker Institute as part of the Cox School of Business. The institute will provide rigorous and relevant management programs to serve a growing segment of the economy.”

In fall 2006, the Brinker Institute will begin offering its first classes at the Cox School’s new James M. Collins Executive Education Center. Cox faculty members and industry practitioners will teach in the institute, covering a range of topics, including branding, customer service, diversity, financial skills, and strategic thinking. An advisory board of industry leaders will provide direction to the institute, ensuring that its programs relate to the most current industry issues and serve as forums for industry leaders and academics.

“We are excited about the opportunity to broaden the scope of the Cox School of Business through the Brinker Institute,” said Cox Dean Albert W. Niemi, Jr. “Unlike other programs that serve the hospitality industry, the partnership between the Brinker Institute and SMU Cox combines a wealth of academic resources with unmatched industry expertise to offer rigorous and relevant educational programs for high-potential employees. We look forward to working with the many national and international hospitality and restaurant management companies headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and throughout the nation to meet their needs for leadership development.”

About the Brinker Institute Advisory Board
The Advisory Board comprises leaders from a number of industries, including hospitality and restaurant management:
• Troy Aikman, Principal, Aikman Enterprises
• Rick Berman, Owner, Berman & Company, Inc.
• Doug Brooks, Chairman, Brinker International, Inc.
• Marlene Colucci, Executive Vice President, American Hotel & Lodging Association
• Dan Cook, Senior Advisor, MHT Partner
• Robert Dedman, Jr., Chairman, ClubCorp International, Inc.
• Alice Elliot, Founder and CEO, The Elliot Group, LLC
• Tim Gannon, Co-Founder and Senior Vice President, Outback Steakhouse, Inc.
• Clarence Otis, Chairman and CEO, Darden Restaurants
• H. Ross Perot, Jr., President and CEO, Perot Systems Corporation
• Steven Reinemund, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo, Inc.
• Phil Romano, President, Romano Concepts
• Pete Schenkel, Former President, Dean Foods

 
About Norman E. Brinker
Norman Brinker pioneered the casual-dining concept when he opened his first Steak & Ale restaurant in Dallas in 1966. After selling the Steak & Ale chain, he invested in Chili’s Grill & Bar and developed it into a nationwide chain by the end of the 1980s. Today, Brinker International Inc. operates more than 1,500 restaurants under the popular brands of Chili’s Grill & Bar, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, and Maggiano’s Little Italy.
Several current restaurant industry leaders got their start by working with Brinker and went on to develop successful restaurant chains of their own. They include Phil Romano, founder of Romano’s Macaroni Grill, and Tim Gannon of Outback Steakhouse.
Norman Brinker retired as chairman of the board of Brinker International in 2000 and is now chairman emeritus. He serves on the Cox School of Business Executive Board and previously endowed a scholarship fund at the Cox School. He also has supported the Meadows School of the Arts and Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences at SMU.

About SMU Cox
SMU’s Cox School of Business offers a full range of business education programs, including BBA, full-time MBA, Professional MBA (PMBA), Executive MBA (EMBA), Master of Science in Management (MSM), and Executive Education in such areas as general management and leadership development. SMU Cox is currently ranked among the top business schools nationally and internationally by major publications, including BusinessWeek, The Economist, Financial Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and U.S. News & World Report.
The Brinker Institute is the newest addition to the Cox School’s many centers and institutes, which provide expertise and special educational programs and resources to the business community in disciplines including entrepreneurship, energy, retail, corporate governance, and real estate and land use economics. For more information about the Brinker Institute, go to http://www.cox.smu.edu/centers/brinkerinstituteforhospitality, or contact Robin Maness of SMU Cox Executive Education at rmaness@cox.smu.edu or 214-768-3890. You can also find out more about the Cox School at www.smucox.com.