Andy Puzder, the former chief executive of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, says that capitalism is not a dirty word. As a former CEO in the restaurant industry, he knows how important the profit motive is to America’s ultimate prosperity.
As the grandson of immigrants, the son of a car salesman, and someone who worked his way up from earning minimum wage to running an international business, Puzder has a first-hand view of how America’s exceptional capitalist spirit can lift everyone to success.
While practicing law in St. Louis, Puzder met Carl Karcher, the founder of Carl’s Jr. quick-service restaurant chain. In 1986, Karcher was in serious financial difficulty. He asked Puzder to become his personal attorney. Puzder successfully helped Karcher avoid bankruptcy and maintain ownership of the company he founded, CKE Restaurants, Inc.
CKE acquired Hardee’s Food Systems in 1997. Puzder was named president and CEO in 2000. Under his leadership, CKE expanded to over 3,800 restaurants globally. He retired in 2017.
In late 2016 President-elect Donald Trump nominated Puzder to become Secretary of Labor. When it appeared he would not be confirmed, he withdrew his nomination. Puzder was one of the Democrats’ biggest targets in the Trump confirmation hearings.
He is currently the Executive Chairman for 2ndVote Advisers, an investment company focused on shareholder returns not political activism or social agendas. Puzder is a Senior Fellow at Pepperdine University School of Public Policy and the America First Policy Institute, and a Visiting Fellow at The Heritage Foundation.
Puzder has written five books and is a frequent lecturer on economics and politics, and contributor to Fox News and other media. He and his family live in Brentwood, Tenn.
Puzder is the inaugural lecturer in The Albert and Christine Hendley Free Enterprise Leadership Series. This speakers’ series is named in honor of the parents of the Hendley family who inspired their children to pursue hard work, entrepreneurship and free enterprise principles.