LOS ANGELES – G.J. Hart has been named president, CEO and executive chairman of California Pizza Kitchen Inc. He succeeds CPK’s co-founders Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax. CPK was acquired by Golden Gate Capital on July 7.

Most recently Hart was CEO of Texas Roadhouse, a publicly traded casual dining company that owns, operates, and franchises more than 350 restaurants across the country. During his 10 years there, he led the company through an unprecedented period of growth, increasing revenues from $63 million to more than $1 billion. Under his direction, Texas Roadhouse grew unit count, revenue and profitability each year he was at the company.


“The company has been actively engaged in a CEO search and, with the sale to Golden Gate Capital complete, this is the right time to bring in a new CEO with the operational and strategic expertise to take CPK to the next level of performance,” Rosenfield and Flax said

Hart is an active member of numerous community and philanthropic organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, United Way and the American Red Cross. He currently serves on the coard of directors of Kosair Children’s Hospital, Bellarmine University and the Louisville Metro Police Foundation.

Golden Gate Capital is a San Francisco-based private investment firm with approximately $9 billion of capital under management.