Restaurants
10 Chipotle regional operations leaders
These ten current and former Chipotle regional operations leaders have run regions, districts or markets for Chipotle. A reader can learn how regional operations leaders run their areas at Chipotle from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
01—10Alfredo Ponce
LinkedInExperience: Regional Vice President · Chipotle Mexican Grill
Regional Vice President at Chipotle Mexican Grill since 2021, in the Denver area, with a Director of Operations role at Chipotle listed since 2015. Alfredo Ponce also held Team Lead, Restaurant General Manager and Shift Team Lead roles at Chipotle, and the profile names people development as a focus.
Ana Alonso
LinkedInExperience: Team Director · Chipotle Mexican Grill
Team Director at Chipotle Mexican Grill since 2024, covering Denver and Utah, where the profile describes leading Mountain West. Ana Alonso was a Regional Training Manager at Chipotle from 2021 to 2023 and a Field Leader at Chipotle from 2017 to 2021, so they can speak to both training and multi-unit operations.
Chris Ladyga
LinkedInExperience: Regional Vice President · Chipotle Mexican Grill
Regional Vice President at Chipotle Mexican Grill since 2016, based in Denver, Colorado. Chris Ladyga was Executive Regional Director at Chipotle from 1999 to 2016, so the listing shows regional operations roles at the company at both the executive regional director and regional vice president levels, and they can speak to how those two levels differ.
Gerald Labensky Jr.
LinkedInExperience: Regional Vice President · Chipotle Mexican Grill
Regional Vice President at Chipotle Mexican Grill since September 2025, based in the Northeast and New York, and Team Director at Chipotle from 2021 to 2025. Gerald Labensky Jr. also held a Field Leader role at Chipotle from 2015 to 2021, so they can speak to several layers of Chipotle field leadership.
Ignacio Montano
LinkedInExperience: Regional Director of Operations · Chipotle Mexican Grill
Regional Director of Operations at Chipotle Mexican Grill since October 2026, and Team Director at Chipotle from 2022 to 2026. Ignacio Montano also held Field Leader and Restaurant General Manager roles at Chipotle, and the profile headline names multi-unit operations and describes a 60-restaurant territory.
M Badar Islam
LinkedInExperience: Regional Director of Operations · Chipotle Mexican Grill
Regional Director of Operations at Chipotle Mexican Grill since 2025, and Team Director at Chipotle since 2022, both listed as current. Based out of Philadelphia, M Badar Islam leads four sub-regions in the Northeast, covering North and South New Jersey, Upstate New York and Philly Metro, per the profile.
Mark Pasquale
LinkedInExperience: Team Director · Chipotle Mexican Grill
Team Director at Chipotle Mexican Grill since 2024, covering the Florida Gulf Coast at director level, and Field Leader at Chipotle from 2022 to 2024. Mark Pasquale was a District Manager at Pollo Tropical from 2018 to 2022 and a Director of Operations at MISSION BBQ from 2014 to 2017, both multi-unit restaurant roles.
Michael Kennelly
LinkedInExperience: Regional Vice President · Chipotle Mexican Grill
Regional Vice President at Chipotle Mexican Grill since 2024, and Team Director at Chipotle from 2016 to 2024. Michael Kennelly's profile describes developing strategic plans for a region of 86 restaurants in four states, the development of ten field leaders, and oversight of financial results on more than $90MM in annual sales.
Pedro Huichapa
LinkedInExperience: Executive Regional Director · Chipotle Mexican Grill
Executive Regional Director at Chipotle Mexican Grill since 2005, based in Washington, District of Columbia, a current regional operations role at the company. Pedro Huichapa was a General Manager at Walgreens from 1999 to 2004, and the profile lists the executive regional director role as current, so they can speak to running a Chipotle region today.
Todd Gathings
LinkedInExperience: Regional Vice President · Chipotle Mexican Grill
Regional Vice President at Chipotle Mexican Grill since 2021. Todd Gathings was a Regional Director at GameStop from 2005 to 2020 and a Vice President at GameStop from 2012 to 2021, and the profile describes operations leadership in specialty retail and restaurant companies, including developing and retaining talent.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's title and region to your question: the page includes regional vice presidents, an executive regional director, regional directors of operations and team directors. For questions about how the field works today, favor people who started their current regional role recently.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How do you split your week between visiting restaurants and coaching the field leaders who report to you?
- 02Which numbers do you review first when a restaurant in your region starts to fall behind, and what do you do next?
- 03How do you decide which general managers are ready to take on several restaurants?
Reaching Chipotle regional operations leaders
How can I contact one of these Chipotle regional operations leaders?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 1 company: Chipotle Mexican Grill, based on profile data retrieved on October 13, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
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About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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