New CFO and VP of ops for Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has appointed Karen Cate as CFO and Jeff Schroeder as VP of operations.



Cate was the VP, 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. She has also held financial management positions for Sun Microsystems, Nestlé USA and Avery Dennison Corporation.



Schroeder has 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 VP, brewery restaurants for Karl Strauss Brewing Company. He also worked with Jack in the Box as Division VP and held operational management roles at McDonald's, Wendy's and Arby's.



"The momentum we're generating at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf requires solid financial, technological and operations expertise. We searched extensively to find the most seasoned leaders in these fields and we're proud to welcome Karen and Jeff. Their talent, experience and people-first orientation complement our existing leadership team, which further positions us to attain our goals for the coming years," says president and CEO John Dawson.



In September last year, the company announced that Advent International, CDIB Capital, and Mirae Asset Private Equity joined together to acquire a significant equity position in the company. Dawson was appointed president and CEO as of Jan. 1. Recently, Bill Robards joined the company as VP of store development and Cori Connell was appointed as VP of legal services.