Liz Smith, CEO of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. announced the appointment of Michael Kappitt as senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Bloomin' Brands. In his new role, Kappitt will oversee the marketing strategy for all concepts, as well as lead cross concept marketing initiatives.

"Mike has been a driving force behind re-energizing the Outback brand through creativity and industry-changing innovation," says Smith. "He will be a valuable addition to the Bloomin' Brands Executive Leadership Team."

Kappitt joined Bloomin' Brands in 2011 as the CMO of Outback Steakhouse. Under his leadership, Outback introduced the "Great Aussie Steak Out" which gave away one million steaks to introduce the wood-fired grill cooking technique. He followed that with "Bloomin' Mondays" to engage NASCAR fans, and recently introduced a new advertising campaign, returning Outback to its successful roots with "No Rules, Just Right."

Prior to Bloomin' Brands, Mike spent nine years at Burger King where he was progressively promoted, concluding as CMO for North America. He holds a Bachelor of Accounting degree from Florida International University.