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John Cracken is the former Vice Chairman of holding company Consolidated Restaurant Companies, Inc. (CRC) and operating company Consolidated Restaurant Operations, Inc. (CRO - www.croinc.com). CRC owns and CRO operates more than 85, and franchises more than 25, full-service, casual-dining restaurants located in 12 states, Great Britain and the United Arab Emirates. CRO employs more than 5,000 full and part-time employees. CRO has been named the 70th largest private company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (home to more than 16 "Fortune 500" companies and 4.8 million residents). CRO's brands include Cantina Laredo, III Forks Steakhouse, Cool River Cafe, Silver Fox Steakhouse, El Chico, Good Eats and Lucky's Cafe. CRO serves more than 14 million meals annually.
Between 1984 and 1987, Cracken attended the University of Texas at Austin (University) and obtained a B.B.A. and J.D. Cracken represented the University in national interscholastic trial and appellate advocacy competitions. He was a member of the University's 1986 National Champion ATLA trial advocacy team and the University's 1986 Intramural Champion appellate advocacy team. Cracken was inducted into the Order of the Barristers in 1986.
Between 1987 and 1997, Cracken practiced law in state and federal courts concentrating in the area of complex litigation. In the role of lead counsel, he obtained gross verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients in excess of $100 million. He was a frequent lecturer for the State Bar of Texas and other legal institutions in their continuing legal education programs.
In 1997, Cracken and partners John D. Harkey, Jr. and E. Gene Street formed Cracken, Harkey, Street & Co., L.L.C. (CHS). Between 1997 and 2000, CHS acquired and consolidated El Chico Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:ELCH), Spaghetti Warehouse, Inc. (NYSE:SWH) and additional private restaurant companies. CHS formed holding company Consolidated Restaurant Companies, Inc. (CRC) and operating company Consolidated Restaurant Operations, Inc. (CRO - www.croinc.com) to own and operate its restaurant companies and related restaurants. In 2007, Harkey bought out Cracken's interest in CRC and CRO.
Further, between 1999 and 2001, Cracken and partners Chris Hipp and Harkey founded and operated Rocketlogix (later RLX Technologies, Inc. (RLX)). Along with technology partner Transmeta, RLX invented the "blade server," which server platform has been widely adopted, in one form or another, by most major server makers in the U.S. and abroad. Cracken served as Chairman, President and CEO of RLX through 2001, raising more than $60 million in venture capital to prototype RLX's first blade-server platform and recruiting former senior staff from Compaq's Systems Division to bring RLX's first product offerings to market. In 2005, HP bought RLX.
Today, Cracken and Harkey own and operate Cracken, Harkey & Co., L.L.C. (CH - www.crackenharkey.com), which is a Dallas-based, private-equity firm that invests in public and private companies. Per CH's disclosure policy, Mr. Harkey serves, or served, on the Board of Directors and Audit Committees of Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ:LEAP), Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (NYSE:ETE), Loral Space & Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:LORL), Energy Transfer Partners, L.L.C.(NYSE:ETP), Emisphere Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:EMIS) and the Board of Directors for the Baylor Health Care System Foundation, among other companies and organizations.
Further, Cracken continues today as the managing partner in law firm John R. W. Cracken, P.C., concentrating on commercial and consumer mass and class actions and associating with leading mass and class action law firms in connection with same.
John Cracken was raised in San Antonio, Texas, and lives today with his family in Dallas, Texas.