---
title: "Nation's Restaurant News: El Pollo Loco names Bernard Acoca CEO"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/2026324e-a96d-43c0-9538-5157097606a3
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-el-pollo-loco-names-bernard-acoca-ceo-2705746
category: "Chicken"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Chicken"
topics: ["People"]
published: 2018-03-01T14:09:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:09:43.083Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/a91805c6c304c38dd09f9530e306c8737784.jpg
---

# Nation's Restaurant News: El Pollo Loco names Bernard Acoca CEO

**TL;DR:** El Pollo Loco has named Bernard Acoca as its new CEO, replacing Steve Sather. Acoca has a history of work with companies such as Starbucks, Yum! Brands, and L'Oreal.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2018-03-01. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-el-pollo-loco-names-bernard-acoca-ceo-2705746).*

## Story

El Pollo Loco is under new leadership. According to a recent article in Nation's Restaurant News, the brand has announced that the former Teavanna president, Bernard Acoca, will take up the role of CEO for the franchise. The role was previously occupied by Steve Sather, who served for seven years.

Acoca has an impressive history of work, including a position as senior vice president of marketing for Starbucks as well as marketing roles at Yum! Brands and L'Oreal.

"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. 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,” said Michael Maselli of El Pollo Loco.

The franchise currently has 470 open locations within the United States. It is based in Costa Mesa, California.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- franchise growth (topic)
- Starbucks (company)
- Yum Brands (company)
- leadership change (topic)
- ceo appointment (topic)
- El Pollo Loco (company)
- Bernard Acoca (person)
- L’Oréal (company)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-el-pollo-loco-names-bernard-acoca-ceo-2705746). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/2026324e-a96d-43c0-9538-5157097606a3).