Trudy Cooper Trudy Cooper is a co-founder of Outback Steakhouse and currently serves as Senior Vice President of Training and Development. As director of training for Outback Steakhouse, she created the training systems that have greatly contributed to the success of the company. Using her background in art, Ms. Cooper created the theme and décor seen in all of our restaurants. Previously, she worked for Steak & Ale from 1979 until 1983 when she joined Chris Sullivan and Bob Basham to form Sunstate Restaurant Corporation, a franchisee of Chili’s Grill & Bar Restaurants. Return to Concept Officers