Name: Tara Hinkle
New title: President and head of Americas, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Previous title: Senior director of franchise finance and strategy, Taco Bell
Hinkle, who officially joined Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in January, brings almost 20 years of experience in franchising and strategic operational planning to her new position, according to a press release. At Taco Bell, she led franchise finance and recruitment initiatives.
Her work history also includes over a decade at Starbucks in various leadership positions, according to her LinkedIn profile. She most recently served as director, business partnerships, partners at Starbucks, where she oversaw the development, integration and management of key collaborations at the coffee giant. She also worked at Frito-Lay, per her LinkedIn page.
In her new role, Hinkle will oversee the chain’s growth strategy in the Americas and work alongside the franchise development team to support expansion. She will also help strengthen the brand’s position in various markets and optimize business operations. The company said these tasks will “ensure the brand’s strategic vision aligns with scalable, sustainable growth.”
"My goal is to drive franchise growth and expand our market reach by empowering our talented brew crew to exceed guest expectations,” Hinkle said.
Coffee Bean has over 1,200 locations globally and has new units in various stages of development in the U.S., South America, the Middle East and Asia. The company has been experimenting with new formats and opened its first drive-thru-only location in Rialto, California, last year. It plans to open more of these locations in markets with high traffic and high mobile app usage.
The company is looking to work with operators who have previous restaurant experience and agree to a minimum of 10-store commitments for a pre-determined market. Single-store and franchise agreements for non-traditional venues are also under consideration.
