CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc., parent of both Carl's Jr., and Hardee's, has promoted Eric Williams to the newly created position of chief operating officer. Williams was previously EVP of operations for Carl’s Jr., a position he had held since August 2011. Previously, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s each had an executive vice president of operations. The chains merged ownership in 1997, when Carl’s Jr.’s parent company purchased Hardee's.