LongHorn veteran joins O'Charley's board

Shares jump almost 40 percent

Email | Print By NashvillePost.com People Dept.

Phil Hickey

O'Charley's has named a former CEO of the LongHorn and Capital Grille chains to its board of directors.

Phil Hickey led RARE Hospitality International from mid-1998 until the company was sold to Darden Restaurants in October 2007. Before joining RARE, Hickey was president and COO of Innovative Restaurant Concepts and Rio Bravo International, which were acquired by Applebee’s International in 1995.

Shares of O'Charley's (Ticker: CHUX) closed Monday trading at $2.03, but rallied almost 40 percent after news of Hickey's appointment. Nevertheless, they're still down about 70 percent over the past six months.

Hickey's appointment increases O'Charley's board size to 12, but the company will trim that number by two at its next shareholders' meeting, per its recent settlement agreement with activist investor Crescendo Partners.

Dale Polley, the lead independent director of O’Charley’s, said Hickey "is well known throughout the restaurant industry and the investment community as an outstanding leader and visionary with an admirable, long-term record of generating value for shareholders."