The parent company of Ruth's Chris Steak Houses is replacing longtime CEO Michael P. O'Donnell and promoting chief operating officer Cheryl Henry to the lead.
Henry, who has been with Ruth's Hospitality Group Inc. since 2007, will take over as CEO and president August 10 and take a spot on the board of directors.
O'Donnell becomes executive chairman. He has led the restaurant chain for a decade, since shortly after it relocated from New Orleans to Central Florida. It is headquartered in Winter Park, Fla., near Winter Park Village.
Henry has been running several aspects of the steakhouse chain's operations including human resources, IT, real estate, development and marketing.
Before going to Ruth's, she was a former chief of staff for Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and also worked at Orlando public relations firm Curley and Pynn.
With the new job, Henry will take over a growing company that has expanded steadily to 151 restaurants, about half of those run by the company and half franchised.
"I'm excited to build on our last decade of work and further expand the Ruth's Chris brand. We have the team in place and a winning strategy, so our goal from here is continued operational execution, the centerpiece of which is a strong and positive brand connection with each and every guest," Henry said in a statement.
O'Donnell said the company has been working on the transition since 2015.
"I could have stayed for a few more years but then Cheryl would have probably taken a job somewhere else and that would have deprived the company," said O'Donnell, 62 and a resident of Winter Park. "She's extremely smart, extremely aggressive and has a great tactical mind."
O'Donnell, who owns about $30 million worth of shares in the company, said he was ready to move on after 10 years as CEO. He said he was proud of the company's growth, expanding slowly but increasing value from about $16 million when he took over to $800 million, increasing dividends and buying back shares.
Even with competing restaurants such as Morton's and Flemings, Ruth's Chris remains the largest company in the premium steakhouse niche, he said.
O'Donnell also narrowed the company's focus, selling the Mitchell's Fish Market chain in 2015 to Landry's for $10 million, $84 million less than it was bought for in 2008. O'Donnell said Mitchell's was a brand purchased by his predecessors that was outside of the core strengths of Ruth's Hospitality.
With the promotion, Henry will have a base salary of $650,000, a raise from the $410,000 base salary she received in 2017, according to regulatory filings. After bonuses, she earned a total compensation of $1.4 million in 2017. O'Donnell made a base of $675,000 in 2017 and took home a total compensation of $2.8 million.
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