Lowings Will Succeed Roger Eaton Who is Retiring
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) today announced the promotion of Tony
Lowings, 60, to KFC Division Chief Executive Officer, reporting to Yum!
Brands Chief Executive Officer, Greg Creed, effective January 1, 2019.
Lowings, a 24-year veteran of the Company, who currently serves as KFC
Division President and Chief Operating Officer, will succeed Roger Eaton
who is retiring at the end of 2018.
In this new role, Lowings will assume global responsibility for driving
the brand strategy and performance of KFC. KFC is the world’s most
popular chicken restaurant brand with more than $24 billion in global
system sales and more than 21,000 restaurants in over 130 countries and
territories as of year-end 2017. General Managers of KFC around the
world (including KFC U.S.) as well as leaders of KFC’s global functions,
will report to Lowings effective January 1.
“Tony Lowings is an outstanding leader with deep knowledge of our
business and a strong track record of growing KFC’s presence and
strengthening the brand’s competitive position with our franchise
partners in markets around the world,” said Creed. “As a proven and
highly respected strategic brand builder, high impact operations leader
and people grower, Tony is the perfect person to continue elevating KFC
into a distinctive, relevant and easy global brand that people trust and
champion. I’m extremely confident Tony and his management team will
establish a seamless transition and continue to successfully execute
KFC’s long-term global growth strategies in partnership with our
franchisees.”
Lowings has held a variety of leadership positions at Yum! Brands across
finance, operations and general management in several international
business units. Prior to becoming President and COO of KFC Division
earlier this year, Lowings was Managing Director of Asia-Pacific, a
high-growth region for the brand representing 23 markets and comprising
more than 50 percent of all KFC Division restaurants. During this time,
Lowings provided coaching and support to the KFC business units in
India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and the Asia franchise business
unit. He previously served as Managing Director of KFC SOPAC (Australia
and New Zealand) where he was instrumental in growing the business and
establishing KFC as one of the region’s most distinctive and unique
brands. Lowings’ career at the Company includes roles as Chief
Operations Officer of Yum! Restaurants International, Managing Director
of Latin America and the Caribbean for KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell and
General Manager of KFC and Pizza Hut in Australia and New Zealand.
“I’m thrilled and incredibly privileged to continue working with our
committed KFC leaders and amazing franchise partners to further
strengthen and accelerate the development of our powerhouse global
brand,” Lowings said. “KFC is an iconic, well-loved brand with millions
of fans and I couldn’t be more excited about its future.”
Roger Eaton has been with Yum! Brands and KFC for more than 20 years,
leading the KFC brand globally since 2014. Throughout his successful
career with the Company, he has held a number of leadership positions
including Chief Operations Officer of Yum! Brands, Chief Executive
Officer of KFC U.S., Chief Operating and Development Officer of Yum!
Brands and Senior Vice President/Managing Director of Yum! Restaurants
International South Pacific (SOPAC), among others.
“I want to thank Roger Eaton, a dear colleague and friend to many, for
his tremendous service, dedication and significant contributions to our
business over the past two decades,” said Creed. “Roger’s imprint on our
culture, people and the KFC brand is vast and his legacy is lasting.
While we will miss Roger, he’s earned this next phase of life and we
wish him well as he spends time with his wife Debbie and children Pierce
and Georgie.”
About KFC
KFC, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM.), is a global chicken
restaurant brand with a rich, decades-long history of success and
innovation. It all started with one cook, Colonel Harland Sanders, who
created a finger lickin’ good recipe more than 75 years ago, a list of
secret herbs and spices scratched out on the back of the door to his
kitchen. Today KFC still follows Colonel Sanders’ formula for success,
with real cooks breading and freshly preparing delicious chicken by hand
in more than 21,000 restaurants in over 130 countries and territories
around the world.
About Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 45,000
restaurants in more than 140 countries and territories and is one of the
Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders in North America. In 2018, Yum!
Brands was recognized as part of the inaugural Bloomberg Gender-Equality
Index, named to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index and
ranked among the top 100 Best Corporate Citizens by Corporate
Responsibility Magazine. The company’s restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza
Hut and Taco Bell – are global leaders of the chicken, pizza and
Mexican-style food categories. Worldwide, the Yum! Brands system opens
over seven new restaurants per day on average, making it a leader in
global retail development.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180928005263/en/
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Source: Yum! Brands, Inc.