Yum! Brands Inc. on Wednesday promoted longtime company veteran David Gibbs to president and chief financial officer. He was most recently the CEO of Pizza Hut.
Gibbs takes over for David Russell, who had been the interim CFO since Pat Grismer left the company in February.
“David is an extraordinarily talented executive with a strong track record of leadership in finance, global strategy and brand building,” CEO Greg Creed said in a statement. “The Yum board and I are confident that David’s experience and deep knowledge of our global business will prove instrumental as we work toward strengthening our iconic brands while completing the separation of the China business.”
Gibbs is a 27-year veteran of the Louisville-based Yum Brands, which operates KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. In addition to the CEO role at Pizza Hut, he has held several positions in the company since joining in 1989 in development, real estate, finance and engineering. He was CFO of Pizza Hut from 2005 to 2010, and then was president and CFO of Yum Restaurants International before taking over leadership at Pizza Hut.
He arrives at a crucial time for the company, which is spinning off its primarily company-owned China business, which will then operate as a franchisee of Yum Brands. Yum said Wednesday that the promotion of Gibbs “ensures a smooth transition of executive leadership” in advance of the spin-off.
The company also recently announced a new, $2 billion financing facility that securitizes Taco Bell royalties. Yum is also on track to return $4.4 billion of capital to shareholders.
“I’m looking forward to working with Greg and the Yum executive team to grow our brands and complete the China separation, which we expect to generate strong returns for our shareholders over the long term,” Gibbs said in a statement. “This is a pivotal and exciting time as we transform Yum Brands into two powerful, independent companies with unique investment profiles, capital structures and compelling growth potential.”
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