RETAIL : Taco Bell’s New Chief Has Good Taste in Restaurant Ventures
Compiled by Greg Johnson Times staff writer
Newly named Taco Bell President Kenneth T. Stevens evidently knows good food when he tastes it.
Before being appointed president of the Irvine-based company on June 27, Stevens had served as Taco Bell’s executive vice president and was charged with, among other things, developing the fast-food chain’s non-traditional restaurant ventures.
Stevens was a senior vice president and treasurer for PepsiCo, Taco Bell’s parent corporation, before joining the fast-food company. He is credited with steering PepsiCo toward its 50% stake in California Pizza Kitchens, a popular Los Angeles-based restaurant chain.
“Ken identified and cultivated that investment,” one Taco Bell observer said. “It’s seen as a real feather in his cap.”
