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El
Pollo Loco Appoints Brian Wallunas to Newly
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Created
Role of Vice President of Digital Marketing
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Former Coca-Cola and Arby’s
Executive Brought in to Increase
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Customer Loyalty as Part of
the Brand’s Transformation
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Costa
Mesa, CA – April 2019 / Newsmaker Alert / El
Pollo Loco, Inc. (“El Pollo Loco” or “Company”) (Nasdaq: LOCO), the
nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant chain, announces the appointment
of Brian Wallunas as Vice President of Digital Marketing, effective April
22. Bringing nearly 15 years of digital experience to this newly created
role, Mr. Wallunas’ appointment comes on the heels of the addition of Miguel
Lozano, El Pollo Loco’s new Chief Operating Officer, and further strengthens
El Pollo Loco’s new leadership team focused on executing the brand’s transformation
agenda.
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 Mr.
Wallunas’ chief responsibility will be to make loyalty a bigger part of
how El Pollo Loco goes to market, while also leading the digital strategy
to enhance brand affinity and growth through all major digital channels.
“Brian
is a critical team addition as we seek to increase brand loyalty and digitize
our business,” said Hector Muñoz, Chief Marketing Officer at El
Pollo Loco. “His proven digital abilities will be key in bringing frictionless
convenience for our customers as the brand continues to pursue sustainable
growth through our transformation agenda.”
Mr.
Wallunas joins the El Pollo Loco familia after most recently overseeing
the digital strategy and capabilities for Coca-Cola’s National Foodservice
business unit. As Director of Marketing Technology, he developed and executed
the transformation to digitize the Coca-Cola value bundle and unlock value
for its customers.
Prior
to Coca-Cola, Mr. Wallunas spent several years leading breakthrough digital
executions for Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. and Domino’s Pizza, Inc. Notably,
as Arby’s Digital Strategy Director, he established the digital vision
and technology roadmap for the entire organization. As Director of Digital
Experience for Dominos, he innovated new ordering channels including the
AI voice ordering assistant ‘Dom’, responsive mobile web, iPad ordering
and Domino’s AnyWare platform.
“I’m
impressed with El Pollo Loco’s transformation agenda and excited to help
grow the love and loyalty among its customers,” said Mr. Wallunas. “We
have an opportunity to leverage technology in a way that drives differentiated
value and makes the brand more accessible for customers, and I can’t wait
to get started.”
About
El Pollo Loco
El
Pollo Loco (Nasdaq:LOCO) is the nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant
with a mission to bring people together around food, family and culture
in the communities it serves. Raised in the heart of Los Angeles, El Pollo
Loco is renowned for its handcrafted L.A. Mex food, an innovative blend
of traditional Mexican flavors and Californian inspiration. Since 1980,
El Pollo Loco has successfully opened and maintained more than 480 company-owned
and franchised restaurants in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, Utah,
and Louisiana while remaining true to its Mexican-American heritage. El
Pollo Loco continues to grow and evolve, nourishing connections to tradition,
culture and one another through fire-grilled goodness that makes us feel
like familia. For more information, visit us at www.elpolloloco.com.
Media
Contact:
Hannah
Gray
Edible
for El Pollo Loco
323-202-1477 |
