Bloomin’ Brands, parent of Outback Steakhouse, has appointed Michael ‘Mike’ L Spanos as CEO, effective September 3, succeeding David Deno.

Spanos most recently served as EVP and COO at Delta Air Lines. He was previously president and CEO at Six Flag.

He also held significant key leadership positions at PepsiCo, where he served as CEO of Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa after serving as president and CEO of Greater China.

Spanos is also a non-executive director at Casey’s General Store, where he is a member of the audit committee.

“Our board believes that his experience operating complex, multi-unit businesses will benefit our iconic, founder-inspired brands,” said Michael Mohan, Bloomin’ Brands board chairman.

“He has a customer-first mindset for leading established organizations through challenging environments. We look forward to his contributions to Bloomin’ Brands.”