Elizabeth Fauerso — Photo by EBF Development and Design Studio

Elizabeth Fauerso, long time Pearl and Potluck Hospitality executive, is pleased to announce her new development and experiential design practice, EBF Development and Design Studio. After 11 years with Pearl and more than 25 years in the strategic practice of creating brands and places that matter, Fauerso is stepping out on her own to work with a diverse range of clients and projects in San Antonio and beyond.

EBF Development and Design Studio is introducing a proprietary four stage approach to creating places that matter, SITE: Story, Identity, Talent and Experience.

Fauerso served as Pearl’s Chief Marketing Officer for 10 years prior to launching Potluck Hospitality as CEO in June 2021. During her tenure with Pearl, she helped elevate the Pearl property and launched the Hotel Emma brand, Food Hall at Bottling Department, Pearl Park and a wide range of retail and cultural programs such as Olé San Antonio, Dia De Los Muertos events, Posada and the Sound Cream music series.

Before her time with Pearl, she was Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning at Dieste, the largest Hispanic advertising agency in the US at the time, where she led practices in consumer and market intelligence, created proprietary research methodologies, and spearheaded innovation projects for global brands like AT&T, Procter & Gamble Beauty and Levi’s. During her time as a management consultant, Fauerso worked extensively throughout the US, Latin America and Europe helping leading hospitality brands, global brands and startups to define and refine their business models, approach to consumers and unique market positions.

"We are at an interesting inflection point right now - after a global pandemic we are all evaluating how we spend our time, our money and our energy. Now more than ever creating places that matter is the pathway to reinvigorate our center cities, to inspire people to come back to work, and to create long term value for owners, operators, customers and communities,” said Fauerso.

With over 25 years in creating brands and places that matter, Fauerso brings strategic discipline, cultural connectivity and culinary and hospitality expertise to her projects. She uses her global network of extraordinary talent to create unique, meaningful environments that inspire love and loyalty from employees, customers and communities.

In the course of her career, Fauerso has collected a number of accolades, including receiving the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Visionary Award in 2016 and being recognized by the San Antonio Business Journal C-Suite Awards in 2019. She was recently included in Worth Repeating - San Antonio Stories, a collaboration between Texas Public Radio and Trinity University Press, and she will be the first guest on Andy Hoyne’s Place Economy podcast launching this month.

“After more than a decade of working with an amazing team at Pearl and my years before working and traveling throughout Mexico, the US and Europe, I am profoundly excited to bring my skill set to a new generation of projects and teams," said Fauerso.

For more information about EBF Development and Design Studio, visit www.elizabethfauerso.com and follow on Instagram at @ebf_studio.

About Elizabeth Fauerso

Elizabeth Fauerso has been creating brands and places that matter for more than 25 years. As an executive at Pearl for more than 11 years, she helped transform the district into the cultural hub that it is today. She also served as the CEO of Potluck Hospitality, a hospitality group focused on creating extraordinary experiences in food, music and entertainment with five full-service restaurants and a 6-operator food hall, including plans to open four new restaurants, a music venue, entertainment concepts and public market.

Prior to her time with Pearl, she served as an Executive Vice President at Dieste, the largest Hispanic Advertising agency in the country leading strategy work with fortune 100 companies and some of the most dynamic global brands. Her expertise in brand valuation, market exploration, and product development centered on companies in the US, Europe, and Latin America.

She currently runs EBF Development and Design Studio where she helps a wide range of clients, from private developers to cities, counties and unique smaller scale projects to create places that matter. Fauerso sits on the board of Texas Restaurant Association Foundation, SAMFCO (SanAntonio Mexi co Friendship Coalition), chairs the Visit San Antonio Marketing Committee, and is a member of the International Women's Forum.