Yum Brands names Aaron Powell as Pizza Hut division CEOYum Brands names Aaron Powell as Pizza Hut division CEO

Joanna Fantozzi

Yum Brands announced Thursday the appointment of Aaron Powell to Pizza Hut division CEO — effective September 20 — replacing Artie Starrs, who left the company in April to become CEO of Topgolf Entertainment Group.

Prior to joining Yum Brands, Powell was the president of consumer goods brand Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s Asia-Pacific consumer business and where he had 14 years of consumer retail leadership experience. Prior to that, he worked with strategic management firm, Bain & Company, and also held management roles at Procter and Gamble.

“The chance to join an iconic, powerhouse global brand like Pizza Hut, combined with the backing of a world-class and culture-rich company like Yum Brands, created an opportunity I knew I had to be a part of and simply couldn’t pass up,” Powell said in a statement. “I’m excited to work with Kevin [Hochman, interim president of Pizza Hut] and Vipul [Chawla, president of Pizza Hut International], and can’t wait to begin working alongside and building relationships with such a talented team of employees and franchisees around the world.”

In his new position, Powell will be reporting to Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs, and will oversee the brand’s growth strategies, franchise operations and performance.

“We couldn’t be happier to welcome Aaron to the Yum Brands and Pizza Hut family and believe this global brand division leadership structure will enable the Pizza Hut U.S. and international teams to further implement best practices worldwide and continue their growth trajectory for franchisees and shareholders,” Gibbs said in a statement. “Aaron brings more than 25 years of deep experience in the business-to-business and consumer packaged goods sectors and is known for driving break-through innovation and delivering strong performance for iconic household name brands operating in complex environments around the world.”

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