Dive Brief:
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Fast-casual chain Qdoba Mexican Eats named Leviathan Winn, CFO of Taco Bell, its new finance chief, the company announced Monday.
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"Throughout his career, Leviathan has executed a broad range of transactions including IPOs, corporate debt offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and has led strategic growth initiatives — driving strong returns on investment," the chain's CEO, Keith Guilbault, said in a statement. "I'm confident he will be instrumental in accelerating Qdoba's positioning for strategic growth and profitability."
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Winn, who started at Taco Bell in May, will relocate to the competitor's San Diego headquarters. Qdoba, founded in 1995, has about 730 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, half of which are franchised.
Dive Insight:
After spending 15 years as a subsidiary of Jack in the Box, Qdoba was sold to a consortium of funds led by Apollo Global Management in 2018.
Qdoba's chief development officer, Tim Welsh, told QSR Magazine the chain is interested in adding more drive-thrus, small takeout stores in urban areas, and ghost kitchens, with about 40 of the latter already in the pipeline for 2021.
As Taco Bell's global CFO, Winn has guided economic evolution and overseen all business planning and forecasting, strategic planning, marketing analysis, operations finance and franchise funding for the chain's over 7,000 restaurants in over 30 countries and over $10 billion in annual sales.
Winn's career began in investment banking, working on M&A and capital raising at Citi. He later moved to asset management at AIG, before earning his MBA from Wharton.
Post-MBA, Winn moved into corporate finance and restructuring strategy as a McKinsey consultant. He then moved into management at debt and equity fund LBC Small Cap. In 2018, he landed at J. P. Morgan Chase as head of its transformation management office, later moving upwards to Head of Strategic Development.
"I am honored to be a part of the Qdoba team and know my previous financial and strategy experience will be extremely beneficial in taking Qdoba to new financial heights," the release quotes Winn as saying. "I look forward to joining the company's experienced leadership team at its San Diego headquarters."
Winn did not respond to CFO Dive's requests for comment.
