Andrew Puzder, former Chief Executive of CKE Restaurants and economic expert, is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow for business and economic freedom at The Heritage Foundation.

In his role as Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Puzder focuses on the consequences of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activism, and the benefits of free market Capitalism. Puzder works with Heritage experts to advance business and free-market activity, economic growth, and develop policy solutions that benefit all Americans.

Puzder began his career as a commercial trial lawyer in St. Louis in 1978 and later served as the personal attorney for entrepreneur Carl Karcher. He went on to become CEO of the well-known fast food powerhouses Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s chains in 2000, expanding to 3,800 locations and leading the company out of serious financial difficulties.

He frequently delivers lectures on economics and politics for various groups, associations, colleges, and universities. Puzder is a Senior Fellow at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, a member of the Washington University Law School’s Board of Advisors, a “Reaganomics Lecturer” and member of the Reagan Institute’s National Leadership Council. He is also a member of the advisory boards at Prager University, the State Financial Officers Foundation, and the Young America’s Foundation’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Free Enterprise.

He has authored several books, including Job Creation: How It Really Works and Why Government Doesn’t Understand It; The Capitalist Comeback: The Trump Boom and the Left's Plot to Stop It; Getting America Back to Work; and It’s Time to Let America Work Again.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Puzder was a commercial trial lawyer in St. Louis. He authored legislation in Missouri—acknowledging that life begins at conception and granting unborn children rights in contexts other than abortion (such as criminal, tort, and inheritance laws)—which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services in 1989.