Chili’s names George Felix as marketing chiefChili’s names George Felix as marketing chief

Brinker International Inc. has named George Felix as chief marketing officer for its Chili’s Grill & Bar brand, the company announced Tuesday.

The Dallas-based company, which also owns casual-dining Maggiano’s Little Italy  and the virtual It’s Just Wings and Maggiano’s Italian Classics brands, said Felix would lead Chili’s marketing programs and would assume the new post July 21. He has worked with Procter & Gamble, Yum Brands and Tinder.

"George has a track record of driving sales quickly and rebuilding big brands over time," said Kevin Hochman, Brinker president and CEO, in a statement.

"He is also a servant leader with a focus on growing people – which makes him a perfect fit for our Chili's culture,” Hochman said. “I am confident George will bring a fresh perspective to serving our guests and our team members."

Felix, left, most recently served as CMO at Tinder, the online dating and geo-social networking application. Earlier, Felix focused on brand management, mobile strategy and innovation at Procter & Gamble, launching such campaigns as the "Smell Like a Man" brand relaunch for Old Spice.

He was director of marketing at KFC and CMO at Pizza Hut, helping lead such campaigns as KFC's "Return of Colonel Sanders" and Pizza Hut's "Newstalgia."

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"Chili's is such an iconic brand that's not only culturally relevant, but also known for its irreverent approach to advertising and marketing," Felix said. "I'm excited to lean on my brand positioning and advertising experience to find new opportunities for building momentum and accelerating growth for this great brand."

Brinker has more than 1,600 restaurants in 29 countries and two territories.

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