Getting to Know The Cheesecake Factory’s Management

In the long run, the share price and the bottom line of a company are greatly impacted by its management’s decisions. In this way, it’s important to keep yourself updated about a company’s management.

In this article, we’ll discuss The Cheesecake Factory’s (CAKE) management and its achievements.

David Overton and his parents Oscar and Evelyn founded CAKE in 1972. David was instrumental in taking the company public in 1992. He led CAKE’s growth from a single-restaurant company to one that generated more than $2 billion in revenue in 2015.

Overton has been honored with many awards, including the following:

• Silver Plate Award from the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association
• Executive of the Year Award from Restaurants & Institutions Magazine and Ernst & Young in the Food Services category for the Los Angeles region
• MenuMasters Hall of Fame Award from Nation’s Restaurant News
• Leadership Roundtable Industry Leadership Award

David M. Gordon joined CAKE as a manager in 1993. Later, he served as general manager, area director of operations, and regional vice president of West Coast operations before becoming senior vice president of operations.

In February 2010, Gordon was promoted to chief operating officer, and in February 2013, he became president of The Cheesecake Factory.

Before joining CAKE in 2009, W. Douglas Benn served as the executive vice president and chief financial officer (or CFO) of RARE Hospitality International, which owned LongHorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille until they were sold to Darden Restaurants (DRI). At RARE Hospitality, he led the company’s growth, which reached $1 billion by 2007.

You can gain exposure to CAKE and the restaurant industry by investing in the iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO). IWO has 0.36% of its holdings in Jack in the Box (JACK), 0.34% in Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), and 0.21% in Papa John’s International (PZZA).

In the next article, we’ll discuss CAKE’s costs and expenses over the years.