July 2, 2012
Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc., parent company of the Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana restaurant brands, has announced that Lynn Schweinfurth has been named vice president and chief financial officer, effective July 16.
With her appointment, Fiesta has now completed building its senior management team.
Schweinfurth has more than 20 years of senior-level financial management and leadership experience, primarily in restaurant and retail businesses, including Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., Brinker International Inc., PepsiCo Inc. and Yum! Brands Inc. She earned an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Since 2010, Schweinfurth served as vice president of Finance and Treasurer at Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. In this role, she led strategic planning and business analysis, treasury, and investor relations. Prior, she led the finance function at Lone Star Steakhouse, Texas Land & Cattle, Romano's Macaroni Grill, and the international division of Brinker International Inc. During her nine years at PepsiCo and Yum! Brands, she held various domestic and international roles in areas including planning and analysis, mergers & acquisitions, franchise finance and investor relations.
"We are delighted to welcome Lynn to Fiesta as our CFO. Lynn is an extraordinary talent, who has broad-based financial leadership experience with major restaurant and retail brands, including global, franchise and company-owned restaurant portfolio companies. In addition to her technical and leadership skills, we believe she will be a great cultural fit for Fiesta. We are confident that she can add significant value as we execute on our strategic plans," said Tim Taft, CEO and president of Fiesta Restaurant Group.
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