KFC U.S. has promoted Ben Dubost to chief development officer and Kate Ward to chief legal officer, effective Jan. 1. Dubost first joined the KFC brand in 2013 as franchise business director for KFC France. He was promoted to chief development officer and chief digital officer for KFC Middle East, Pakistan and Turkey in 2016. He joined KFC Global in 2021 as vice president of development.
In a statement, Tarun Lal, president of KFC U.S., said, “Ben is an impactful leader and trusted franchisee partner who has been instrumental in driving development strategy in KFC markets globally. I’m confident that his expertise will deliver strong results for KFC U.S.”
Dubost's appointment comes as KFC U.S. recently returned to net new unit growth for the first time in 17 years, and as the company expands new prototypes, such as its off-premise-focused Next Generation store and its urban inline store. During parent company Yum Brands’ Investor Day event earlier this week, KFC CEO Sabir Sami said KFC U.S. development will continue to contribute to the company’s overall aggressive development plans.
“We put in new leadership with a longstanding track record and our new stores in the last few quarters are achieving strong AUVs,” he said. “The future is there for sure."
Dubost will succeed Brian Cahoe, who has departed the company after serving as chief development officer for KFC U.S. since 2015.
Ward joined KFC U.S. in 2016 as an attorney overseeing employment law and litigation and partnered with the development team on real estate and refranchising efforts. In 2018, she was promoted to director of Legal and, in 2019, took on the role of leading the legal support of marketing, advertising, digital and technology and contract work for the brand’s U.S. system.
She succeeds Melanie Bootes, who is departing the company after serving as chief legal officer since 2015.
KFC U.S.’s c-suite has experienced heavy turnover in the past several quarters. Lal was named president of KFC U.S. in July after his predecessor Kevin Hochman was named CEO of Brinker International. In October, COO Monica Rothgery, CFO Trip Vornholt and director of National Field Operations Jeff Griffin departed the company, as was reported initially by the Wall Street Journal. Last year, CMO Andrea Zahumensky left the company to pursue other opportunities. She was replaced by Nick Chavez in October 2021.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]