---
title: "Taco John’s® Promotes Industry Leader Gerard Lewis to Chairman of The Board"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/5c0c8873-afbf-4953-b1c0-a6c1940a7bf8
source: "Franchising.com"
original_url: https://www.franchising.com/news/20210205_taco_johns_promotes_industry_leader_gerard_lewis_to_chairman_of_the_board.html
category: "Mexican"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Mexican"
topics: ["People"]
published: 2021-02-05T12:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T22:33:17.660Z
image: https://imgs.franchising.com/brands/social/tacojohns.jpg
---

# Taco John’s® Promotes Industry Leader Gerard Lewis to Chairman of The Board

**TL;DR:** Taco John's has promoted Gerard Lewis to chairman of the board, bringing over 40 years of experience in the food and beverage industry to the role. Lewis joined Taco John's Board of Directors in May 2018 and will collaborate with the company's new team of C-suite executives.

*originally published in Franchising.com on 2021-02-05. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/news/20210205_taco_johns_promotes_industry_leader_gerard_lewis_to_chairman_of_the_board.html).*

## Story

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - CEO of Taco John’s Jim Creel announced today that the company has named Gerard Lewis as chairman of the board (COB) of Taco John’s International.

Lewis joined Taco John’s Board of Directors in May 2018 with more than 40 years of experience in the food and beverage industry in both corporate and franchise environments. The industry visionary’s proven track record of building brands through innovation to achieve sustainable profitable growth has proven to be a key contributor to Taco John’s success.

“When Gerard first came to Taco John’s, we knew our brand was gaining someone incredibly special,” Creel said. “His experience speaks for itself - he has brought so much additional knowledge and wisdom to our company. We are really proud to advance Gerard to COB. Our leadership team trusts his guidance, and we know he will be an integral player in Taco John’s future achievements.”

As COB at Taco John’s, Lewis will collaborate with an almost entirely new team of C-suite executives made up of recent CFO, COO and CMO hires. Lewis’ main responsibilities will include leading board of directors meetings, managing and providing counsel to the board and acting as a direct liaison between the board and Taco John’s management team.

“I’m very grateful and excited to take on this new role with Taco John’s,” Lewis said. “After spending the past couple of years contributing to business strategies and making tactical recommendations, I’m honored and ready to begin leading big-picture decisions for this brand. I look forward to working with Taco John’s dynamic leadership team as we take this bold brand to the next level.”

With its fusion of distinctive flavors and south-of-the-border spices, the Taco John’s menu offers several signature items, including Meat & Potato Burritos, Stuffed Grilled Tacos and Potato Olés®. Taco John’s features signature specials like Taco Tuesday® and discounted breakfast burritos on Wake Up Wednesday!®

Taco John's is the 3rd largest Mexican QSR with a proven business model that has thrived for 56 years and is poised for growth. Don’t just add Mexican to your portfolio…add West-Mex!

## Entities

- Franchising.com (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- qsr industry (topic)
- leadership team (topic)
- Taco John's (company)
- board appointment (topic)
- Jim Creel (person)

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Originally reported by Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/news/20210205_taco_johns_promotes_industry_leader_gerard_lewis_to_chairman_of_the_board.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/5c0c8873-afbf-4953-b1c0-a6c1940a7bf8).