BLUM GROWTH FUND, LLC
WINTER PARK, FLORIDA

(born December 28, 1953) is an American businessman. Blum’s experience heading some of the largest brands and companies in the casual dining and quick service restaurant industry began with Darden Restaurants. As President of Olive Garden, he was credited with turning around the brand to deliver 29 consecutive quarters of same-restaurant sales increases and continuous growth in restaurant profits. [1] From Darden, Blum went on to serve as the CEO of Burger King from December 2002 to July 2004. He has earned a well-deserved reputation as a visionary and innovator in the restaurant industry [2], who has consistently achieved financial results as a brand builder. Blum founded his own business, BLUM Enterprises, which has the mission to provide Good Food for the Planet™  – food that is exceptionally good tasting, really good for you, you feel good after eating it, it’s a good value and good for the environment. [3] Blum is an investor, board director and strategic partner of LEON Naturally Fast Food restaurants headquartered in London [4]; served as a member of the Supervisory Board of AmRest Holdings SE, a publicly traded company with restaurants throughout Europe and in China, and private equity firm Warburg Pincus as its primary shareholder [5]; and currently serves as board director of Darden Restaurants, Inc., the largest casual dining restaurant company in the world with multiple brands throughout the U.S., totaling $6.8 billion in annual sales. [6] Bradley D. Blum was born on December 28, 1953 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of businessman Karl Blum and his wife Kebbie, a Fine Artist. With his older brother Rob, he grew up in Terrace Park, Ohio, a small middle class village. His love growing up was visiting farms with his family and playing sports – football, basketball and baseball. He attended Mariemont High School, from which he graduated in 1972. In high school, Blum excelled at sports and was honored with the George Rowland Most Outstanding Athlete Award. He went on to play football at Denison University, where he also studied abroad in Europe (Copenhagen, Denmark) during his junior year, and received his bachelor's degree in economics and urban studies in 1976. Blum continued his formal education by attaining an MBA in marketing and finance from Northwestern's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 1978.