By Jessie Rosenfeld
Staff Writer
A Mira Costa alumnus received quite the holiday gift from the people at Yogurtland, the popular frozen yogurt company.
After graduating from Mira Costa 33 years ago, alumnus Huntley Castner has risen to the position of chief executive officer of Yogurtland. Castner previously held the position of chief operating officer of the company.
“Yogurtland is such a fun place,” Castner said. “I really enjoy being a part of a business that makes people happy, which Yogurtland does for its customers.”
Yogurtland is a self-serve frozen yogurt company with franchises located in 22 states; it also has restaurants in Mexico, Australia and most recently Dubai. The nearest franchise is located at 1570 Rosecrans Avenue in Manhattan Beach.
“I think it is always great when students of mine fulfill their full potential they had as a young child,” former Costa history teacher and administrator Gary Hartzell said.
Castner graduated from Mira Costa in 1981. During his time at Costa, Castner held leadership roles as the captain of the soccer team and as the Associate Student Body president.
“I had a number of different opportunities to practice being a leader at Mira Costa,” Castner said. “They were great opportunities, I learned how to be a leader, and I use all of those skills in my business today.”
After leaving Costa, Castner went on to graduate from Stanford and earn his Master’s of Business Administration from University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to working at Yogurtland, Castner had several jobs in the food industry, including vice president of strategy and finance at Panda Express and opening and operating WA-HA-KA Mexican Grill with friend as well as Mira Costa alumnus Greg McNally.
“I learned a lot about what it takes to run a restaurant day to day and make customers happy at WA-HA-KA Mexican Grill,” Castner said. “At Panda Express, I learned about running a bigger restaurant company, which is what I do at Yogurtland.”
At the end of 2013, the former CEO of Yogurtland, Phillip Chang, decided to step down from his current position to focus on a Christian mission project. When Chang left Yogurtland, he hired Castner to take over his position as CEO.
“I am really proud of him,” daughter and Costa sophomore Emma Castner said. “It encourages me to be the best I can be because, obviously, if you try really hard, there’s a good outcome.”
As CEO, Castner hopes to lead the Yogurtland employees in the right direction. Castner works to make the office a productive and energetic work environment. In this new position, Castner plans to create a brighter future for the company by looking to benefit the company in all aspects for the long term.
“Huntley has a lot of experience, he is remarkably bright, and he is a really strong leader,” Director of Product Development at Yogurtland Scott Shoemaker said. “He has the potential to help Yogurtland move forward in the right direction.”
According to Castner, his goals as the CEO include opening more Yogurtlands across the United States and even around the world. In addition, he also wants to help the Yogurtland franchises be as profitable as possible by creating popular and desirable products. Castner also hopes to be a good mentor for his employees at Yogurtland.
“A lot of people have helped me in my career over the years, and now it is my turn to pay it forward,” Castner said.
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