News

El Pollo Loco names new chief operating officer

July 30, 2013

El Pollo Loco announced today that restaurant industry veteran Kay Bogeajis has joined the company as chief operating officer. Bogeajis comes to the chicken restaurant chain with more than 30 years of operations and general management experience across a variety of brands including Peet's Coffee & Tea and Taco Bell.

As COO, Bogeajis will oversee company and franchise restaurant operations, training and development for El Pollo Loco, which now includes nearly 400 restaurants in five states. She is also responsible for leading operations initiatives with the goals of improving efficiency and driving profitable growth.

"Kay is an industry veteran with an exceptional track record of exceeding business performance targets and delivering operations excellence," said Steve Sather, president and CEO, El Pollo Loco. "We are thrilled to welcome Kay to the El Pollo Loco team during this time of continued strong sales and profit growth."

Previously, Bogeajis served as vice president of Retail Operations for Peet's Coffee & Tea, where she was responsible for $228 million in annual sales. Bogeajis also spent 10 years at Taco Bell in various leadership positions, including four years as head of western region operations where she oversaw sales, franchise royalty revenue and profits for the 1,400 unit division.

Prior to Taco Bell, she held progressively responsible leadership roles during a 14-year stint with the Burger King Corporation.

Bogeajis will serve as a member of the El Pollo Loco senior management team and will report directly to Sather. She will be based out of the company's Costa Mesa, Calif., office.

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