Elisia Flores is the Vice-Chair and CEO for L&L Franchise, Inc. and the daughter of business founder Eddie Flores. She always knew she’d come back to the family business but after college on the mainland she worked as a finance leader for General Electric for many years.
After receiving her MBA she decided it was time to bring her skill and experience back to Hawaii.
Elisia believes in leading with a purpose. For her, the L&L story is the American dream. Many of the franchisees are immigrants and she derives great satisfaction from helping them create something for their families. It’s truly gratifying to help an entry level cook eventually become a franchise owner.
Her years at GE and her training as an auditor taught her to ask “why” and be willing to adapt and change. When the pandemic hit, L&L had locations in 15 states, sales were going down and local health department rules were changing almost daily. Elisia's ‘change agent’ mindset and the entrepreneurial spirit of the organization helped navigate the uncertainty. The ability to flex to the new reality of a COVID world, move quickly and find ways to get things done helped L&L remain profitable. During the pandemic they closed two stores and opened ten.
Elisia believes that things are getting better for women leaders. She sees companies now being intentional to seek diversity and different perspectives. Factors that caused her concern at the beginning of her career being Asian or a woman she now sees as strengths and an advantage.
She believes it is vitally important for us to support each other and build and maintain a pipeline for women to leaders in Hawaii.