Jack in the Box Chief to Retire at Fiscal Year-End

Robert Nugent, who helped revive sales at Jack in the Box Inc., will retire as chairman and chief executive at the end of fiscal 2005, the fast-food operator said Monday.

Succeeding him in both positions will be Linda Lang, 46, Jack in the Box’s president and chief operating officer, who joined the company in 1984.

Nugent, a 26-year veteran who became CEO in 1996 and chairman in 2001, said he was leaving the San Diego-based company in strong financial shape after experiencing “one of its best years ever in 2004.”

“I want to step aside and let a new generation of management take Jack in the Box Inc. to the next level,” Nugent, 67, said in a statement.

Lang, who will move into the top jobs in early October, has held a variety of senior-level positions during the last 10 years.

Dean Haskell, an analyst with JMP Securities in San Francisco, called Lang a strong replacement.

“I think the boat is sailing in the right direction,” Haskell said of Lang. “It’s continuity. I think it’s faith in growing people from within the organization.”

Haskell credited Nugent for successfully guiding the company back to profitability after an E. coli outbreak at several Pacific Northwest restaurants in 1993 killed four and sickened hundreds. More recently, Nugent has done a good job in spearheading the company’s growth and reinventing its brand, Haskell said.

For example, Jack in the Box has introduced a mix of higher-priced products and low-fat menu items. It also unveiled plans to convert as many as 15% of its approximately 2,000 company-owned and franchised fast-food restaurants to fast-casual JBX outlets, where customers can eat higher-quality food in a more upscale atmosphere.

In February, Jack in the Box reported a 77% jump in first-quarter net income to $25.4 million, or 68 cents a share, and raised its earnings guidance for 2005 to $2.43 a share, up a dime.

Jack in the Box shares rose 59 cents to $37.15 in New York Stock Exchange trading Monday.