Dennis Kennedy

The BusinessPundit raises the interesting question, "Do lawyers make good CEOs?"

It's a good topic for debate, but it's also a question for which I have some rooting interest. I worked with Andy Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, Inc. and Hardee's Food Systems, Inc., on quite a few projects when we were both at The Stolar Partnership in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

I'll also remember when Andy told me that the work I was doing on a particular high-profile project was the type of opportunity that would make me a partner in short order. He was right and I enjoyed working with him. As a lawyer, he had both a great attention to detail and an ability to see the bigger business issues. I also suspect that his cross-examination skills have been put to good use in getting answers to tough questions.

I see a little bit of Andy in Hardee's commercials and the Six Dollar Burger especially. I even got a little chuckle when I saw a commercial featuring Andy - "hey, I know that guy!"

Now, I definitely do not think that most lawyers will make good CEOs, but I've worked with and met a good number of lawyers who certainly would.