Kelli Valade is chief executive officer of Denny's Corporation. She joined Denny's in June 2022 and has spent more than 30 years in the restaurant industry as a purpose-driven leader with an uncompromising dedication to serving guests and her teams. Prior to joining Denny's, Kelli served as CEO of Red Lobster and CEO of Black Box Intelligence. She also spent several years at Brinker International where she held various management positions at Chili’s including brand president, chief operating officer and senior vice president of human resources. Kelli currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) based in Greenville, SC and has served on past boards of the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation (NRAEF) and Women's Foodservice Forum (WFF).