The CEO of Wienerschnitzel, the hot dog fast-food chain with more than 300 locations throughout the U.S., is Cindy Galardi Culpepper. The 68-year-old executive will appear on Undercover Boss, disguised as employee Louise. Like all Bosses on the show, she’ll learn a lot working on the ground with her employees.
Galardi Culpepper became CEO of Wienerschnitzel in 2013, after the company’s founder, John Galardi died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 75. John was Cindy’s ex-husband. They were married when John opened the first Der Wienerschnitzel in Los Angeles in 1961. (The Der was dropped in the 1970s.) Galardi made his first $1 million at the age of 25. He learned about the fast-food business from Glen Bell, founder of Taco Tia which later became Taco Bell. Cindy Galardi Culpepper, who is an 80 percent shareholder, says money from the business is “no longer lining the pockets of the family” and that “we have been giving back the majority of the funds.” John’s 25-year-old son, J.R. Galardi, is Wienerschnitzel’s Chief Visionary Officer. Undercover Boss airs Sundays at 9pm and 10pm on CBS.
J.R. Galardi, Chief Visionary Officer, Wienerschnitzel
