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Elizabeth Williams

Chief Executive Officer & Director, EL POLLO LOCO HOLDINGS INC

Search every verified Elizabeth Williams interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Elizabeth Williams, CEO of El Pollo Loco, discussed the company’s growth strategies and brand revitalization at the CREATE 2024 conference in October 2024. She described her initial attraction to the brand as a longtime Southern California customer and emphasized the quality of its freshly prepared chicken as a competitive advantage against other fast-food chains. Williams also credited influencer marketing for building authentic consumer engagement and noted the company’s focus on operational productivity, citing low team member turnover and efforts to improve efficiency without excessive price increases or labor cuts. In a February 2024 appearance at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Williams reflected on her career trajectory, which included roles at BCG, Yum! Brands, Taco Bell, Drybar, Foxtrot, and El Pollo Loco. She advised students to establish credibility early in their careers, drawing on her own experience, and discussed the operational challenges of scaling Foxtrot, a convenience cafe concept, while maintaining a neighborhood feel through a curated product mix.

Recent appearances

  • How El Pollo Loco is winning the value-profitability battle

    November 05, 2025 · 📺 Restaurant Business

    How is El Pollo Loco giving customers value without giving up profits? This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Liz Williams, CEO of the fast-food chicken chain. El Pollo Loco just reported a decline in same-store sales with an increase in traffic and restaurant-level profits. Generally speaking when customers pay less per order it’s hard to generate profit growth. Williams explains how the company did this. But we talk about a lot of other things, including the company’s development strategy—it just opened its 500th restaurant—and the difficulty of ope…

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • CREATE 2024 CEO Conversations with Elizabeth Williams CEO of El Pollo Loco

    October 29, 2024 · 📺 CREATE: The Future of Foodservice

    In this conversation at CREATE Elizabeth Williams, CEO of El Pollo Loco, shared insights about her role, the company’s potential, and new growth strategies. Williams also discusses her efforts to revitalize the brand, El Pollo Loco. Interested in attending CREATE 2025? Mark your calendar for October 15 – 17, in Nashville! Learn more here: https://informaconnect.com/create/ #CREATEtogether #restaurantoperators #restaurants #restaurantowners

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • Kellogg Leader Speaker Series: Liz Williams ’04 MBA

    February 27, 2024 · 📺 Kellogg School of Management

    Next up in our #KelloggLeader speaker series is Liz Williams ’04 MBA, former CEO of Foxtrot (Outfox Hospitality) and now CEO of El Pollo Loco. We love welcoming alumni back to campus ... especially when they bring specialty popcorn to share. From roles at BCG to Yum! Brands, Taco Bell, Drybar, Foxtrot, and now El Pollo Loco, Williams knows a thing or two about navigating career changes across industries. Her advice? Going after jobs that you’re confident you will shine in.

    Watch on YouTube ↗

The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →