IRVINE, California, September 29, 2015 – McDermott & Bull, a premier Southern California-based retained executive search firm, announced today the successful appointment of Mr. Jake Guild as Vice President of Accounting and Corporate Controller with BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (Nasdaq: BJRI), the owner and operator of 169 casual dining restaurants located in 22 states.
McDermott & Bull’s robust search process identified 169 candidates throughout Southern California, presenting six elite Corporate Controller candidates to BJ’s executive management team. This executive recruiting engagement was conducted by Brandon Biegenzahn and Jeff Black, both Partners at McDermott & Bull Executive Search. According to Mr. Biegenzahn, “Jake’s extensive track record of success as a Corporate Controller in both public and private entities will allow him to immediately take ownership of the controller function. And his servant-leader approach will enable him to quickly build followership cross-functionally throughout the organization.”
Jake is well positioned for the corporate controllership with BJ’s Restaurants, hailing from KPMG, and having spent 11 years in-house. Following his tenure with KPMG, Jake joined $530 million, publicly traded Universal Electronics, a global manufacturer of wireless consumer electronics hardware. In 2010 he took over the Corporate Controller role for Universal. And following Universal Electronics, and, prior to joining BJ’s, Jake spent three and a half years as the corporate controller for private equity backed BakerCorp, a global provider of industrial rental equipment. Jake was recruited to BakerCorp due to his public markets experience so he could spearhead the company’s placement of public debt. Jake is a graduate of California State University, Fullerton where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration (with an emphasis in accounting).
About BJ’s Restaurants
BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. currently owns and operates 169 casual dining restaurants under the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery®, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse®, BJ’s Pizza & Grill® and BJ’s Grill® brand names. BJ’s Restaurants offer an innovative and broad menu featuring award-winning, signature deep-dish pizza complemented with generously portioned salads, appetizers, sandwiches, soups, pastas, entrees and desserts, including the Pizookie® dessert. The Company operates several microbrewery restaurants in addition to using independent third party brewers to produce and distribute BJ’s critically acclaimed craft beers. The Company’s restaurants are located in the 22 states of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Visit BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. on the Web at http://www.bjsrestaurants.com.
Certain statements in the preceding paragraphs and all other statements that are not purely historical constitute “forward-looking” statements for purposes of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. The “forward-looking” statements contained in this press release are based on current assumptions and expectations and BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update or alter its “forward-looking” statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investors are referred to the full discussion of risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its recent reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K.
For further information, please contact Greg Levin of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. at (714) 500-2400 or JCIR at (212) 835-8500 or at bjri@jcir.com.
About McDermott & Bull
McDermott & Bull, Inc. (www.mbsearch.com) is a retained executive search firm headquartered in Irvine, California. The firm serves both public and privately held clients in a variety of industries and functional areas. McDermott & Bull has developed expertise in fields including Aerospace & Defense, Banking, Technology, Financial Services, Consumer Products, Industrial Manufacturing, Restaurants/Retail, Entertainment, Food Manufacturing, Healthcare and Life Sciences, the Engineering & Construction / Building Industry, Professional Services, and other areas. Founded by Rod McDermott and Chris Bull, the firm specializes in recruiting difficult-to-find and critical senior level talent for its clients. McDermott & Bull has worked with a large number of prestigious clients including Broadcom, Cisco Systems, First Republic Bank, Western Digital, Golden State Foods, Kaiser Aluminum, Maxwell Technologies, Kraco Enterprises, Google, Ducommun, AECOM, Newport Corporation, Panda Restaurant Group, Honda Center/Anaheim Ducks, Comerica Bank, Union Bank, and the Motion Picture Industry Pension & Health Plans.