Key Executive at Carl Karcher Abruptly Resigns : Management: Aide considered a top contender for hamburger chain’s presidency quits abruptly ‘to pursue other interests.’

ANAHEIM —  Raymond J. Perry, the executive vice president of Carl Karcher Enterprises Inc. who was widely considered in line for the company presidency, abruptly announced his resignation Thursday to “pursue other interests,” according to the company.

Perry joined the chain of hamburger restaurants as director of operations in 1986 and rose to the corporation’s third-highest post in 1989. A former pizza restaurant chief executive, he was one of the most well-respected managers overseeing the chain of about 600 Carl’s Jr. eateries.

“We appreciate all the contributions Ray has made to the company over the past few years. We wish him the best in the future,” founder and Chairman Carl N. Karcher said about the resignation in a statement. Perry could not be reached for comment.

Perry, 50, had been considered a top contender to guide the chain upon retirement of President Donald F. Karcher, 63, and Carl Karcher, 74.

Though talk of succession was largely unspoken, disclosure last summer that Donald Karcher is battling inoperable lung cancer raised the issue anew. Carl Karcher said in a recent interview that he was actively thinking about who would eventually take the reins of the company he founded 50 years ago. But he added that he had not decided whether Perry or another executive, or a family member--such as son Carl Leo Karcher, a franchisee in Palm Springs--would rise to guide it.

The announcement was made after the stock market closed. Karcher shares lost 13 cents Thursday, closing at $8.75.

Doug Christopher, an analyst for the Los Angeles brokerage of Crowell, Weedon & Co., said he suspects that the sudden resignation could be related to whether Perry was to be promoted.

In his tenure with Karcher, Perry is credited with establishing a new recognition program that rewards restaurant managers and crews for top performance. He also helped to set up another program that aids veteran managers in acquiring their own Carl’s Jr. franchises, according to Karcher spokeswoman Patty Parks.

Carl Karcher has spoken glowingly of Perry. In an autobiography that Karcher published this year, he said the hiring of Perry was “probably one of the best decisions Don and I made” when the company was facing troubled times in the middle 1980s.

“With 20 years of experience that ranged from his time as a restaurant trainee to his tenure as president of Straw Hat Pizza, Ray took a real hands-on approach in his commitment to support Don and me in getting Carl Karcher Enterprises back on track. He proved to be a decisive leader who spent more than half his time in the restaurants and encouraged regional directors to do the same,” Karcher wrote.

A dapper dresser, Perry endeared himself to the founder from the start by doffing his coat and grabbing a mop to give an embarrassed Carl’s Jr. manager an impromptu lesson in cleaning filthy restrooms.

“Word of Ray’s ‘cleaning lesson’ spread through the company and everyone got the message that here was a man with high expectations who was not above doing the dirty work himself,” Karcher said.

In financial performance, Carl Karcher Enterprises has yet to surpass the $20.8 million in profits it realized in 1989.

The latest problems center around competition from other food chains. Carl’s Jr. is being crimped from below through the price-cutting strategies of Taco Bell and McDonald’s. And it is being hit from above as mid-priced restaurant chains such as Sizzler and Chili’s offer full-service meals costing only a little more than Carl’s fare.