Tara Hinkle has served as our Chief Development Officer since July 2026. Prior to joining El Pollo loco, Ms. Hinkle was the President of the Americas for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, where she held full P&L responsibility, overseeing franchising, development, marketing, operations, finance, and HR. Prior to her time at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Ms. Hinkle spent five years at Taco Bell, where she led development operations, market planning, franchise recruiting and franchise finance. Earlier in her career, Ms. Hinkle held a series of progressively senior roles at Starbucks in non-traditional franchise development, national account management, and enterprise partnerships. She holds an MBA from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business management from Bucknell University.