Yum reorganizes global divisions by brand

Yum! Brands Inc., the Louisville, Ky.-based operator or franchisor of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, said it will reorganize its business into separate reporting divisions by brand, with China and India remaining as individual divisions.

Effective Jan. 1, 2014, Yum’s three major restaurant brands will combine their United States systems with the former Yum Restaurants International division, or YRI, and have individual global business units for KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell across more than 100 countries. Yum said it would keep China and India reporting separately, “given their strategic importance and enormous growth potential.”

“We believe that having 100-percent focused brand teams will enable us to more aggressively accelerate growth,” chief executive David Novak said in a statement. “We also believe knowhow sharing will be more powerful by bringing the U.S. and international businesses together.”

The move also brings several changes in Yum’s executive roles.

“The next logical step was to organize our division leadership and resources by brand, as we are now doing,” Novak said.

Rick Carucci, the company’s president and former chief financial officer, will retire next March after decades with the company.

“Rick Carucci has been an incredible partner to me, and the company will be forever grateful for his many contributions over a long career with Yum,” Novak said. “As we move forward, I couldn’t be more confident that the best is yet to come — for our customers, our associates and our franchisees — as we leverage our brand portfolio to grow our business around the world.”

Also as part of the transition, YRI chief executive Micky Pant will become chief executive of KFC. He joins the rest of the realigned leadership team, all reporting to Novak: Pizza Hut chief executive Scott Bergren, Taco Bell chief executive Greg Creed, Yum Restaurants China chief executive Sam Su and Yum Restaurants India president Niren Chaudhary.

A Yum spokeswoman said the Plano, Texas, office where YRI had been based would remain open and remain the headquarters for Pizza Hut.

Beginning in fiscal 2014, earnings results will be reported by global division for KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, as well as for China and India.

Yum operates or franchises more than 40,000 restaurants in more than 130 countries.

Contact Mark Brandau at [email protected].
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