Bernard Acoca

Bernard Acoca joined our board of directors in January 2021. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer and President for El Pollo Loco, the nation’s largest restaurant brand specializing in fire-grilled chicken. Before joining El Pollo Loco, Mr. Acoca spent seven years at Starbucks Corporation in various capacities as a member of its executive team, most recently as President of Teavana, Starbucks’ global tea brand. In this role he was responsible for the overall strategy and 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. Mr. Acoca also served as Senior Vice President, Marketing & Category for the Americas, Starbucks’ largest division, where he was responsible for managing categories totaling $9B in sales. Additionally, he served as Chief Marketing Officer for L’Oréal and spent 10 years at Yum! Brands in marketing roles of increasing responsibility. Mr. Acoca currently serves on the board of El Pollo Loco. He graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts in History and International Studies.