Jack Laughery (February 25, 1935 in

Guthrie Center, Iowa Guthrie Center is a city in Guthrie County, Iowa, United States, along the Raccoon River, South Raccoon River. The population was 1,593 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Guthrie County, Iowa, Gut ...

– August 20, 2006 in

Jackson, Wyoming Jackson is a resort town in Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 10,760 at the 2020 census, up from 9,577 in 2010. It is Teton County's only incorporated municipality and county seat, and it is the largest incorporated town ...

) was an American restaurant investor and consultant, the former

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the

Hardee's Hardee's Restaurants LLC is an American Fast food restaurant, fast-food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurants, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. ("CKE") with locations primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The company has ...

restaurant chain. In 1961 Jack Laughery left his successful insurance practice to join the

Sandy's Sandy's was a chain of American fast-food restaurants begun in 1956 by four entrepreneurs from Kewanee, Illinois: Gus "Brick" Lundberg, Robert C. Wenger, Paul White and W. K. Davidson. Sandy's was the ancestor of the midwestern franchises of t ...

restaurant chain. In 1967 he was appointed president of Sandy's by the founder of the company, Gust E. "Brick" Lundberg. In 1971 Sandy's merged with Hardee's (a chain begun by Laughery's friend Leonard Rawls). Laughery was named executive vice president of operations of the new expanded Hardee's Food Systems Inc. A year later he was appointed president and chief operating officer, and in 1975 he was named

. Under Laughery's leadership, Hardee's introduced the "Big Twin" sandwich, Made-From-Scratch biscuits, the highly successful

California Raisins California () is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the sout ...

promotion, and acquired the

Burger Chef Burger Chef was an American fast-food restaurant chain. It began operating in 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana, expanded throughout the United States, and at its peak in 1973 had 1,050 locations, including some in Canada. The chain featured several ...

chain. Laughery expanded the company's presence from 750 restaurants to 3,300 restaurants in 42 states and nine countries, and when he stepped down as CEO in 1990, Hardee's sales of $4.1 billion made it the third largest QSR hamburger chain in the world. From 1990 until his retirement in 1994, Mr. Laughery remained Chairman of Hardee's and a board member of Imasco Ltd., Hardee's parent company at the time. In 1993 he was made a Director of

Papa John's International Papa John's International, Inc., trading as Papa Johns, is an American pizza restaurant chain. , it is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States, with headquarters in the Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia m ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. Mr. Laughery also served on the boards of directors of several investment corporations. Two scholarships were set up in Laughery's name: The Jack Laughery Scholarship Fund through the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and The Helen and Jack Laughery Honorary Scholarship Endowment at Nash Community College in

Rocky Mount, North Carolina Rocky Mount is a city in Nash and Edgecombe counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population was 54,341 as of the 2020 census, making it the 20th-most populous city in North Carolina. The city is east of Raleigh, the st ...

. :The downfall of any company has rarely, if ever, been the result of a lack of financial resources...Downfall has occurred when there has been an inability to coordinate a group of motivated people and a reluctance to give them long enough tethers to innovate and take risks in the development of products and services. -- Jack Laughery, 19 Oct 198

References

Obituary of Jack Laughery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laughery, Jack 1935 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Deaths from lung cancer in the United States People from Guthrie Center, Iowa