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Biography
Rick Rosenfield is the co-founder of California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), the restaurant brand that helped redefine American casual dining and popularize California-style pizza. Before entering the restaurant business, Rosenfield built a successful legal career as a federal prosecutor and defense attorney, handling complex cases and developing the decision-making, persuasion, and leadership skills that would later shape his approach to business.
In 1985, Rosenfield and his longtime friend and law partner Larry Flax made an unconventional career change. With no restaurant experience, they left the legal profession and opened the first California Pizza Kitchen in Beverly Hills. What began as a single location grew into an international brand with hundreds of restaurants, a major retail food line, and a lasting influence on modern casual dining.
A major part of CPK’s success was its focus on culture. Rosenfield helped build the company around the R.O.C.K. principles: Respect, Opportunity, Communication, and Kindness. These values helped create a strong internal culture, empower employees, and support the company’s growth while maintaining a consistent guest experience.
Beyond CPK, Rosenfield has served as a business advisor, board member, and mentor to entrepreneurs and executives. He spent more than two decades on the board of Callaway Golf, helping guide the company through major transitions and growth. His experience spans entrepreneurship, brand building, hospitality, leadership, innovation, business strategy, and organizational culture.
Rosenfield is also the author of The California Pizza Kitchen Story: How Two Federal Prosecutors Changed the Way America Eats Pizza, an Amazon #1 bestselling book that shares the risks, decisions, partnerships, and leadership lessons behind building one of America’s most recognizable restaurant brands.
Today, Rosenfield speaks to business leaders, entrepreneurs, and organizations about leadership, culture, innovation, reinvention, risk-taking, partnership, and scaling a business without losing the values that made it successful in the first place.
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Videos
Speech TopicsExpand each topic to learn more
Leaving the law, betting on an unconventional idea, creating a differentiated brand, and building culture before scale.
Growth, control, going public, selling a company, and why the price at closing is only one measure of success.
Purposeful risk, resilience, curiosity, and continuing to reinvent yourself long after conventional wisdom says you should stop. One Pager Rick Rosenfield-pdf
Testimonials
Booksby Rick Rosenfield
The California Pizza Kitchen Story: How Two Federal Prosecutors Changed the Way America Eats Pizza
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