The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Names New CFO and VP, Operations

Los Angeles — The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®, the oldest and largest privately‐held specialty premium coffee and tea retailer in the United States, has made two new appointments to its executive team: Karen Cate as chief financial officer and Jeff Schroeder as vice president of operations.

Prior to joining The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®, Cate was the vice president, controller of Trader Joe’s Company, where she was responsible for the integrity of financial processes and reporting for the retail grocery store, warehouses and distribution operations.

As vice president of operations, Schroeder is responsible for the company’s domestic store operations; customer relations; operations services and training. Schroeder brings more than 30 years of experience with large multi-unit operations in the restaurant industry. He has been involved in the rapid expansion of major restaurant organizations; most recently, Schroeder served as vice president, brewery restaurants for Karl Strauss Brewing Company. He also worked with Jack in the Box as division vice president and held operational management roles at McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Arby’s.

Born and brewed in Southern California since 1963, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® currently has more than 950 stores in nearly 30 countries. For more information, visit www.CoffeeBean.com.

SOURCE: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®