Horizons Fall 2013

26 HORIZONS The last words Leonard (Lenny) Comma (M.B.A., ’97) says on his voice mail message are telling: “Remember, never let fear hold you back.” For Comma, president and chief operat- ing officer of Jack in the Box Inc., and alumnus of the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneur- ship, living by those words has brought him to where he is today. As of January 1, 2014, Comma’s duties will be expanded when he assumes the additional titles of chair- man and chief executive officer of Jack in the Box Inc. “Lenny is fully prepared and capa- ble of leading this company to even greater success in the future,” said Linda Lang, the company’s current chairman and CEO, who is retiring. “Lenny and I have worked together for many years. He’s an extraordinary leader who has demonstrated his ability to lead with passion, courage, and commitment.” During the past 12 years, Comma has successfully worked his way up the corporate ladder to his current leadership position at Jack in the Box, one of the nation’s largest fast-food hamburger chains with more than 2,200 quick-serve restaurants in 21 states. The company also operates more than 600 Qdoba Mexican Grills across the country. “Some people hear that message and interpret it as ‘never have fear.’ That’s not it at all,” said Comma, 43. “It is normal to have fear. What I am saying is that you are going to have the fear, but don’t let it stop you from doing what needs to be done.” In the business world, Comma says, that often means making tough decisions and implementing changes that may be unpopular. “In each new assignment I got, I was bold in making the changes that needed to be made,” he said. Comma credits the education he received first as an undergraduate in finance at Drexel University in Philadelphia and later at NSU, where he participated in the Huizenga Business School’s executive M.B.A. program, in preparing him for the real world of business. He partici- pated in Drexel’s five-year co-op program, in which students work in their chosen field six months out of every year. After graduating from Drexel, Comma was hired as a franchise representative for Mobil Oil, now ExxonMobil, which brought him to Fort Lauderdale. That’s where he learned that the company would cover his tuition for NSU’s M.B.A. program. He attended classes at NSU on week- ends for two years and received his M.B.A. in 1997. “The great thing about the NSU M.B.A. program was that it focused on real-world business,” Comma said. “Every professor was an active profes- sional, so we got a balanced, real-world focus that was fully applicable to the business world.” For example, he said, one of his professors was the vice president of Human Resources at Sunbeam. At the time, Sunbeam had just hired a new CEO who was referred to as The Hatchet. “So while Sunbeam was going through this major restructuring, the professor was using his experiences to teach us,” Comma said. “That was real- life practices we were learning about.” Because NSU focused on present- day issues rather than simply theory, Comma said he was better prepared for the realities of the business world. “This was the late ’90s, and we were experiencing the birth pains of moving into a more global economy and enter- ing a more technological environment, and both were impacting the business world,” he said. “Mostly, what I took away from NSU was that the business world I was going into, in which I was going to lead, was going to require a constant mode of managing and lead- ing change.” Comma stayed with ExxonMobil until 2001, then he took a job at Jack in the Box in San Diego, California, as Being Bold Propelled Businessman to the Top BY ELLEN WOLFSON VALLADARES Leonard Comma is president and CEO of Jack in the Box Inc. In January, he will add two more titles to his name: chairman and chief executive officer.