Iva Chen

About

Iva is a high-energy, second-generation airport concessionaire with a story that has come full circle. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and at 15, landed her first job as a snack bar attendant at SFO, working weekends to save up for her first car. Decades later, she returned as an owner and operator — and in 2025, opened the first-ever Panda Express at SFO. It's moments like that one that have people calling her the Queen of SFO. The airport world isn't just her career — it's in her DNA. She grew up watching her father, Johnny Chiu, rise from manager trainee at LAX to VP of Operations and Development for the Western Region with HMS Host. From snack bar counter to boardroom, Iva has been immersed in the fast-paced, high-stakes world of airport concessions — an international marketplace where execution, adaptability, and excellence are non-negotiable. Before joining her family business, she was a CPA at Deloitte and Touche, held finance roles at CBS Paramount, Nestlé USA, and The Capital Group, worked in experiential marketing for multi-billion dollar brands, co-founded and exited a travel tech start-up, and built a chain of pizzerias in China. As founder and CEO of Jetsete

Experience

Education