Romana Acosta Banuelos & Alejandro Banuelos, Founders
Romana is the star of our company history — the young woman who brought Sonoran family recipes north of the border, who pledged never to compromise them and never did. Alejandro was her husband, her partner and confidant. His vision was for Romana to be happy; hers was to give customers food with integrity. Together they built a business (not to mention millions of tortillas) from scratch. Now, over six decades later, with their children and grandchildren at the helm, that business is thriving — and the tortillas have never been better.
Martin Acosta Torres Sr., President and CEO
Our president grew up in this company — literally. In fact, a pile of corn sacks on the factory floor provided Martin’s first makeshift crib. But before long he was learning the ins and outs of the family trade, from pounding tortillas to working the cash register, and by the time he graduated at 18 Martin was a full-time Ramona’s employee. At 21 he was made Vice President, taking charge of nighttime operations, where from dusk ‘til dawn Ramona’s kitchen hand-prepped the next day’s fresh meals and ingredients. This lifelong immersion did the trick. Today, Martin — with family at his side — carries on the Ramona’s legacy of authentic flavor and quality food. “Ramona’s made me who I am,” he says. “Now I’m trying to show my children and nephews how to run the company so that when I’m ready to retire, they already know what to do.”
Carlos Acosta Torres Sr. (November 4, 1943 – November 17, 2011)
Carlos, like his brother, truly had a lifetime of experience at Ramona’s. From the time they could walk their mother taught the boys all they’d need to know to one day run her flourishing company. But for Carlos, this education was interrupted by the needs of his country, when after graduating from military academy he enlisted in the Marine Corps. and was deployed to Vietnam. He returned home a decorated soldier and brought to Ramona’s a whole new understanding of organizational success. Taking the reins of the company in the early 1970s, Carlos revolutionized business operations and allowed Ramona’s to grow like never before. He led as our trusted Executive Vice President for 35 years, as well as serving as a Los Angeles County Sherriff for 30 years. Carlos’s truly rich life and devotion to our company’s future continue to guide and inspire Ramona’s today, as the next generation prepares to lead the company he helped bring to life.
Ramona Acosta Banuelos, Chief Financial Officer
Her first day “on the job,” she arrived in a basket in her mother’s arms. She started packing burritos at age eight for $0.50 an hour. Every summer vacation, every school holiday, every spare moment since, Mona has always played a major role in the business that shares her name. Growing up she learned purchasing, payroll, inventory, HR — enough that by college she was an accounting whiz, thoroughly versed in the field firsthand. When she graduated with a Political Science degree Mona set to work right where she’d left off, implementing Ramona’s first computer system and running a tight ship as treasurer/office manager. In 1995, at her mother’s urging, Mona took her skills into the world of finance at Pan American Bank, where she remained for 16 years before rejoining Ramona’s as CFO last year. Together, she and her brothers oversee everything from quality control to product development — all in the spirit of their mother’s unique vision. “Ramona’s is a boutique product,” Mona explains, “and we succeed because we make authentic foods like no one else does.”