HispanicBusiness

MIAMI, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Burger King Corporation today announced the appointment of Clyde Rucker as Senior Vice President of Diversity. Mr. Rucker will co-chair Burger King Corporation's Diversity Advisory Council with Brad Blum, chief executive officer, and will oversee business development for minority franchisees and suppliers, franchisee relations and diversity employment and training.

(Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030826/FLTU014 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990804/FLW005-a)

Mr. Rucker will report directly to Burger King Corporation's new, unnamed chief human resources officer. In his new role, Clyde will focus on four areas, to include business development for minority franchisees and suppliers, franchisee relations, diversity employment and training. He replaces Vincent Berkeley, who is leaving Burger King Corporation to pursue opportunities around his passion for mentoring people and organizations.

"Clyde's extensive work with our ethnic franchisee associations and the Diversity Action Council shows his understanding of the key role diversity plays in creating success with our guests, as well as with our franchisees, vendors and employees," said Brad Blum, Chief Executive Officer, Burger King Corporation. "I look forward to working closely with Clyde on advancing programs that will create more opportunities for our minority franchisees, employees and vendors."

Mr. Rucker previously served as Vice President of the Central Region and managed the operations for 2,000 franchise restaurants in 14 state territories in the U.S.A with approximately $1.5 billion in annual sales. Prior to his service in the Central Region, he served as Vice President and Director of Business Diversity Enterprises with the responsibility of managing Minority Franchising, Minority Business Development and the Diversity Advisory Council

"Mr. Rucker's established track record of diversity advocacy and understanding of diversity issues will enable him to take diversity programs to the next level," said Valerie Daniels Carter, President of the Minority Franchisee Association. "I applaud his appointment. We also thank Vince for his contributions over the years."

"One of the reasons I am so happy is that with Clyde's appointment, Burger King Corporation has demonstrated its commitment to diversity by appointing one of its most talented executives to the position," said Al Cabrera, president of the Hispanic Franchisee Association. "Mr. Rucker's high standards and commitment to excellence will serve Burger King Corporation well as it continues to build and expand its culture of diversity."

"Mr. Rucker's appointment underscores Burger King Corporation's continuing commitment to diversity at every level of its business," said Herman Li, president of the Asian American Franchisee Association. "I welcome the opportunity of working with him to create even greater opportunities for the company's minority franchisees."

"Embracing diversity as a natural part of our culture is one of our core values and is absolutely essential to our success with our guests, as well as with our franchisees, vendors and our employees," Blum said.

Mr. Rucker received a B.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a M.S. from Central Michigan University. He is a member of the 100 Black Men of America and holds a seat on the Board of Visitors, Florida Memorial College.

About Burger King Corporation

BURGER KING(R) takes pride in serving our guests the best burgers and a variety of other great tasting, healthy foods that are cooked over an open fire. That's what we're all about.

The BURGER KING system operates more than 11,350 restaurants in all 50 states and in 58 countries and territories around the world. Ninety-one percent of BURGER KING restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family-owned operations that have been in business for decades.

Burger King Corporation, the parent company, is private and independently owned by an equity sponsor group comprised of Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. In fiscal year ending June 30, 2002, BURGER KING had system-wide sales of $11.3 billion.

To learn more about BURGER KING, please visit the company's website at http://www.burgerking.com/. Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030826/FLTU014http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990804/FLW005-aAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 212-782-2840 Burger King Corporation

CONTACT: Rob Doughty, Burger King, +1-305-378-7277, orrdoughty@whopper.com

Web site: http://www.burgerking.com/

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/gh/cnoc/comp/124650.html