Denny’s CEO John Miller Joins CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion

SPARTANBURG, S.C., Aug. 01, 2017 -- Denny’s (Nasdaq:DENN) is pleased to announce that President and CEO John Miller has joined the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion. The initiative includes more than 150 CEOs pledging to take action to advance diversity and foster inclusion by sharing best practices, educating on unconscious bias, and encouraging open dialogue within their organizations on these important social issues.  

The CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion initiative is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace with CEO’s from across 50 industries and all 50 states in the U.S.  The action aims to leverage individual and collective experiences to advance diversity and inclusion.  By sharing best practice efforts, the CEO-led action will help continue to cultivate more inclusive workplaces and drive meaningful change.

“I am proud to be a part of this initiative and work together with CEOs from leading companies to understand best practices and, ultimately, create a more inclusive and welcoming work environment,” said John Miller.  “As America’s Diner, we are committed to ensuring we are an inclusive company that reflects our diverse customer base. While diversity and inclusion efforts have long been an important focus for us as a company, we are always open to working with others that can offer valuable perspective and insights that can help us continue to evolve and grow as an organization.”

One of our many diversity and inclusion initiatives is our focus on Supplier Diversity.  In 1995, Denny’s implemented an initiative to establish beneficial business relationships with diverse suppliers who share the company’s commitment to exceptional quality, excellent customer service, innovative ideas and competitive pricing. The program gives consideration to diverse and disadvantaged businesses having the capabilities to meet the company’s needs – ensuring qualified minority suppliers have an equal opportunity to the company’s procurement process.  Since inception of the program, the company has spent more than $1.8 billion with diverse and disadvantaged business enterprises, and as of year-end 2016, spending represented 12.8% of Denny’s purchases. 

The company has also launched a new internal process to increase the use of qualified suppliers. Denny’s implemented a user-friendly supplier locator database extending access of diverse and disadvantaged suppliers to decision makers at all levels of the organization.  With this database, buyers and decision makers across the company can search, review and evaluate certified diverse and disadvantaged businesses in all categories. All decision makers will now be able to extend their reach to diverse or disadvantaged business each time they fulfill an RFP, ensuring that all decision makers play a role in opening doors and creating a level playing field. 

Miller added: “We believe that strength is derived from the diversity of our customers, employees, suppliers, franchisees and other partners across the country and we are pleased to have made great strides with our Supplier Diversity Initiative.  As we continue to grow our diverse menu, we look forward to growing our commitment to supplier diversity by adding new partners to our supply chain.”

To learn more about Denny’s Supplier Diversity and explore business opportunities, please visit https://www.dennys.com/diversity/suppliers/.

About Denny's Corp.
Denny's is one of America's largest full-service family restaurant chains, currently operating over 1,700 franchised, licensed and company-owned restaurants across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guam, the United Arab Emirates, Curaçao, El Salvador and the Philippines. For further information on Denny's, including news releases, please visit the Denny's website at www.dennys.com or the brand’s social channels via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram  or YouTube.

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