Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> May 3, 2004
ROBERT S. MERRITT is Senior Vice President of Finance, Chief Financial
Officer and Treasurer of Outback Steakhouse, Inc. He has been Chief
Financial Officer of three publicly owned companies over the last 17
years and has been involved in two IPOs and several secondary equity
offerings with those companies. Mr. Merritt joined Outback Steakhouse as
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in January 1990. He became
Senior Vice President of Finance, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and
Secretary of the company in February 1991. He served as Secretary of the
company until September 1994. Prior to coming to Outback, he was
employed from 1985 to 1989 by JB's Restaurants, Inc., and from 1981 to
1985, Mr. Merritt was employed by Vie de France Corporation, a
restaurant and specialty baking company. Profile
TWST: Would you please start with a capsule summary of OutbackSteakhouse?
Mr. Merritt: We own and manage an array of casual dining concepts
ranging from moderate price points, mid-scale all