LOUISVILLE Ky. Yum! Brands Inc. has appointed 12-year company veteran Roger Eaton chief operating and development officer-designate. Eaton, 47, will replace Peter Hearl, 55, who said he would retire from the Taco Bell and KFC parent at the end of March. A 17-year veteran of Yum, Hearl assumed his current position 13 months ago.
Eaton, senior vice president and managing director of Yum Restaurants International South Pacific since 2000, also has served since 2006 on the company’s Partner’s Council, which is described as an in-house think tank. He will report directly to David Novak, Yum’s chairman and chief executive, upon Hearl’s retirement.
During Eaton’s time with SOPAC, the operation posted 27 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth and exceeded its targets for restaurant openings. As previously reported, Yum’s same-store sales in the U.S. this year are running behind expectations, rising just 1 percent in the third quarter.
Yum, the world’s largest restaurant company, operates or franchises some 35,000 restaurants worldwide. Its other brands include Pizza Hut, A&W All American Food and Long John Silver’s.