News

Starbucks exec takes top spot at El Pollo Loco

March 1, 2018

Former Starbucks executive Bernard Acoca has a new gig as El Pollo Loco's president and CEO. He begins the job March 12, succeeding CEO Steve Sather, who is retiring. Acoca will assume Sather's position on the board as well, according to a news release.

Acoca was president of Starbucks' tea brand, Teavana, and oversaw operations of more than 375 Teavana specialty retail stores in North America as well as its e-commerce business. During his tenure, he oversaw the expansion of the Teavana brand to 26,000 Starbucks stores globally and was in charge of evaluating the brand's prospects and determining its strategy. 

Previously, he was Starbucks' senior vice president of marketing and category for the Americas, Starbucks' largest region. In that job, Acoca managed categories totaling $9 billion in sales. He was also CMO for the Americas for L'Oréal, and before that spent 10 years at YUM brands in various marketing roles.

"With a long and proven track record of driving sales and profit growth through new product development, brand communications and integrated go-to-market strategies, Bernard brings significant strategic, marketing, operational and digital expertise to the role of CEO," El Pollo Loco Board Chair Michael Maselli said in the release. "As El Pollo Loco embarks on its next chapter of growth, we are confident that Bernard's skill set, experience and passion for the brand make him the ideal person to lead this company into the future." 

Sather has been president and CEO since 2010, after joining El Pollo Loco in 2006 as senior vice president of operations. During his tenure, he led a successful brand turnaround, repositioning El Pollo Loco to target the QSR-plus niche and driving improvement in average unit volumes and restaurant level margins, according to the release.