Restaurant industry veteran Trojan to join company and become CEO.

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) announced Gregory A. Trojan will join the company as president and a director effective December 3, 2012. Gerald W. Deitchle, the company's current chairman, president and CEO, will retire as CEO effective February 1, 2013, with Trojan succeeding him in that role. Deitchle will continue as chairman of the company's Board of Directors.

Trojan comes to BJ's from Guitar Center Holdings, a privately held retailer of music products with total annual revenue in excess of $2 billion.

Trojan joined Guitar Center in 2007 as president and chief operating officer and a director and became its CEO in November 2010. From 1996 to 2006, Trojan served as CEO of House of Blues Entertainment, Inc., an operator of restaurant and music venues, concerts and media properties. Prior to that, he served as CEO of the California Pizza Kitchen restaurant chain for two years when it was owned by PepsiCo Inc.

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. owns and operates 127 casual dining restaurants under the BJ's Restaurant & Brewery®, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse®, BJ's Pizza & Grill® and BJ's Grill® brand names.