 In 1971 Sandy's merged with Hardee's (a chain begun by Laughery's friend Leonard Rawls).Laughery was named executive vice president of operations of the new expanded Hardee's Food Systems Inc. A year later he was appointed president and chief operating officer, and in 1975 he was named CEO.Under Laughery's leadership, Hardee's introduced the "Big Twin" sandwich, Made-From-Scratch biscuits, the highly successful California Raisins promotion, and acquired the Burger Chef chain.