Elizabeth Espinosa

Elizabeth Espinosa serves as Senior Brand Manager for Carl's Jr., a role she has held for almost two years within the hospitality industry where she has spent a little over 10 years. In this position she develops menu strategy, innovates on existing and new products including limited-time offers, and focuses primarily on the chicken and breakfast categories while studying ways to disrupt the QSR landscape. Earlier in her career she led off-premise operations as a one-woman team at Benihana during the COVID pandemic, successfully shifting service so that off-premise dining accounted for 60 to 80 percent of sales. She holds an AA in Business Administration and is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in marketing. She also completed customer engagement training through Brave and earned a CRM certification. Outside of work, Elizabeth serves on the board of directors for a wildlife rehabilitation nonprofit in Tennessee, where she has been a member for three years and has chaired the board since May. She attributes her success to her family, especially her parents and grandparents, who instilled in her a love of learning and the belief that knowledge is power. She values connection and servant leadership, often reminding her team that if they are not good at home they are no good at work, and she advises young women entering the field to ask all the questions they can and not to fear not being the smartest person in the room.