David M. Overton

David Overton has served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of The Cheesecake Factory, Inc.(CAKE) since its incorporation in 1992. Mr. Overton co-founded the Company with his parents, Evelyn and Oscar Overton. Mr. Overton created the namesake concept and opened the first The Cheesecake Factory restaurant in 1978 in Beverly Hills, California. He grew The Cheesecake Factory® into an international brand and created three other concepts, Grand Lux Cafe®, RockSugar Southeast Asian Kitchen® and Social Monk Asian KitchenTM. Under Mr. Overton’s leadership, revenues reached $2.3 billion in 2018, with The Cheesecake Factory leading the casual dining industry in average annual sales per restaurant of $10.7 million in fiscal 2018. Among Mr. Overton’s many professional honors, he has received the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association “Silver Plate Award,” recognizing the most outstanding and innovative talent in foodservice operations; the “Executive of the Year Award” from Restaurants & Institutions Magazine; the “MenuMasters Hall of Fame Award” and “Golden Chain Award” from Nation’s Restaurant News, for his outstanding contributions to menu design and foodservice research and development; the “Entrepreneur of the Year” in the Food Services category for the Los Angeles region by Ernst & Young, for his demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in innovation, performance and personal commitment to The Cheesecake Factory and the communities the restaurants serve; and the “Leadership Roundtable Industry Leadership Award.” Mr. Overton is also one of the founding members and directors of The Cheesecake Factory Oscar and Evelyn Overton Charitable Foundation (“Foundation”), a 501 qualified, non-profit charitable organization which raises funds for a variety of worthy causes and provides a means for the Company’s approximately 38,700 staff members to perform charitable work in their communities.