News

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf names new VP of operatons

May 8, 2012

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has named Mark Watkins as its new vice president of operations, reporting directly to president and CEO Mel Elias. In his new role, Watkins will oversee the growth of the company’s domestic operations, focusing on both continued growth and the development of team members at all levels.

Before joining The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Watkins served as senior vice president of operations for Rubio’s Restaurants, Inc., overseeing 200 company and franchise restaurants in the Western United States. Watkins joined Rubio’s in 1999 and worked his way up through a number of leadership roles, including district manager, franchise business manager, regional director of operations and vice president of operations. Prior to Rubio’s, Watkins spent 20 years cultivating his restaurant management skills with the McDonald’s organization, working for the company’s largest Orange County, Calif., franchisee.

“Mark exemplifies what we look for in our executive level operations management: a combination of people orientation and operational excellence,” Elias said. “His leadership will help us to continue to grow our domestic company store business as well as to further enrich the culture and spirit of our team members.”

Read more about operations management.