EXECUTIVE AWARD RECIPIENT
Steven A. Davis
Former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Bob Evans Farms, Inc.
Steven A. Davis served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
of Bob Evans Farms, Inc. from 2006 to 2014. Bob Evans Farms is a $1.4B
diversified and integrated restaurant and packaged foods company. During
Davis’ tenure, Bob Evans stock appreciated 96 percent and performed at
or above the industry restaurant peer group from 2006 to 2014. During this
time Bob Evans returned over $800MM in shareholder value through share
repurchases, dividend increases and debt reduction.
Davis led the transformation for both the restaurants and packaged food
segments. In Davis’ first year in position, Bob Evans Restaurants reversed
three consecutive years of negative same store sales decline. His system
wide remodeling program, the Farm Fresh Refresh Remodel program,
was the first launched in company history. Remodeled restaurants consistently outperformed
non-remodeled restaurants by 500 basis points of same store sales. Davis recently launched the
Broasted Chicken platform, which achieved the highest same store sales performance in brand
history. Davis also launched carryout programs in 2007 and achieved eight consecutive years of
positive same store sales in carryout. In 2013, Davis launched the first new Bob Evans concept, Bob
Evans Express, designed for franchising and licensing in non-traditional venues such as airports,
malls, corporate offices, and college campuses. He restructured the Bob Evans Farms retail food
business segment and grew it from a geographically and asset restricted regional brand to a national
brand that is now available in all 50 states.
Before joining Bob Evans Farms, Davis worked at Yum! Brands, as President of Long John Silver’s
& A&W All-American Food Restaurants. Prior to his presidency, he served in a variety of operations
management and other senior executive positions within Yum! Brands, including Senior Vice
President of Pizza Hut. Prior to that, Davis was employed by Kraft General Foods in a series of brand
leadership positions, launching several successful new products, new packaging and business
building marketing campaigns for household brands such as Philadelphia® Brand Cream Cheese,
Velveeta®, and Budget Gourmet®.
Since July 2013, Davis has served on the Audit Committee, and Corporate Governance and
Nominating Committee for Marathon Petroleum Corporation. Since 2009 he has been member
of the board of directors of the Walgreen Co. From 2006 to 2009, Davis served as a director of
CenturyLink, an $18.1B telecommunications firm. In July 2011, he was appointed by the Governor of
the State of Ohio to the board of directors of JobsOhio. Davis serves on the Executive Committee
of the Ohio Business Roundtable, and is member of the Columbus Partnership and Columbus 2020.
Davis has won numerous awards, including the Alumni Association 2014 Lifetime Achievement
Award from University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and the Columbus NAACP 2014 Pioneer of Diversity
award from the Champions of Diversity organization. He is also active in nonprofit work, serving as
a board member of the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital at The Ohio State University from 2006 to
2012. In 2013 and 2014, Davis served as the chair of the annual Columbus Chapter Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation Family Walk, which set fundraising records. In 2012, he received The Ohio
State University William E. Nelson Community Warrior Award for Business recognizing his efforts
in advancing the role of African Americans. In 2007, Davis served as chair for the Mid-Ohio Food
Bank’s Operation Feed.
Davis holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BSBA from the University of Wisconsin at
Milwaukee. He resides in New Albany, Ohio with his wife, Lynnda, and their three children.