COSTA MESA, Calif., April 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- El Pollo Loco, Inc. (“El Pollo Loco” or “Company”) (Nasdaq: LOCO), the nation's leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant chain, today announced 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.
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.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Hannah Gray
Edible
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hannah.gray@edible-inc.com