Orange County Business : New Vice President for CKE Chain

William R. Espinosa has been appointed to the position of vice president, strategic planning for CKE Restaurants Inc. in Anaheim.

Espinosa will be responsible for the strategic planning and information technology of the firm’s two principal operating units, Carl Karcher Enterprises Inc., which operates the Carl’s Jr. restaurant chain, and Boston Pacific Inc., which is developing and will operate the firm’s Boston Chicken franchise stores.

Espinosa was formerly vice president, general manager of Providian Corp., a financial services company in Louisville, Ky. Before that, he was president, chief executive and chief financial officer of Triangle Toledo Inc., a 39-restaurant Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. He also served as vice president, operations development and vice president, strategic planning at KFC Corp., and as a corporate planner at Sizzler International Inc.