Yum Brands announced Monday the departure of Kevin Hochman, president of KFC U.S., from the company, effective June 3. Hochman will be leaving Yum to “assume a senior position at another public company,” though no further details of his next steps were given; later Monday, Brinker International reported that he would succeed Wyman Roberts as president and CEO upon Roberts’ retirement in June. Until Yum finds a replacement for Hochman, Dyke Shipp, KFC division president, will assume responsibility of the KFC U.S. business in the interim.
“I want to thank Kevin for his leadership, his bold and creative thinking and his unwavering focus on keeping the iconic KFC brand culturally relevant for consumers,” Sabir Sami, KFC Division CEO said in a statement. “As Kevin moves on to another opportunity, we’re thankful for the strong and experienced leadership team at KFC U.S. Dyke is an accomplished executive with a strong track record of elevating KFC’s unique and distinctive culture, shaping leaders around the world and driving an ambitious global development agenda.”
Hochman began his career at Yum brands in 2014 as CMO of KFC, before moving on to U.S. president of Pizza Hut through Nov. 2021. Since 2017, he has been president of KFC U.S.
“As we look ahead, I couldn’t be more excited about the future of KFC as we continue working with our talented leaders and amazing franchisees to further strengthen and accelerate the development of our iconic, well-loved brand globally,” Sami added.
Interim CEO Dyke Shipp was chief development officer for Yum Brands from 2006 to 2016, and most recently, was promoted to global KFC division president in January.
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