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Yum Brands Names David Gibbs as President of Pizza Hut U.S. and Jason Marker as GM of KFC U.S. [Professional Services Close - Up](Professional Services Close - Up Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Yum Brands, Inc. announced it has appointed David Gibbs as President of its Pizza Hut business in the U.S., and Jason Marker as General Manager of its KFC business in the U.S. According to a release, Gibbs will report to Scott Bergren, Pizza Hut Chief Executive Officer; and Marker will report to Micky Pant, KFC Chief Executive Officer. Both appointments are effective immediately. Gibbs joined the Company in 1989 and has risen through senior management since that time. He began his career in development and his roles included Vice President of Development at KFC and at YUM. In 2006, he was promoted to Chief Financial Officer of Pizza Hut in the U.S., then to CFO at Yum Restaurants International, and most recently served as President and CFO of YRI. "David Gibbs is a champion for growth," said Bergren. "He is an outstanding business leader, with strong strategic and brand building skills, and a demonstrated ability to work effectively with franchisees, share best practices, and build people capability." Gibbs steps into the role vacated by Bergren, who was promoted to global brand leader for Pizza Hut during the recent reorganization. Marker joined the Company from Unilever as a marketer in the South Pacific region, based in Australia. He then was promoted to the Chief Marketing Officer and was a key force in developing product and marketing ideas that were first successful in Australia and then exported across KFC's global system. Marker was relocated to Yum Restaurants International as the Vice President of Global Branding and Marketing. He most recently has served as Chief Marketing Officer of KFC U.S. "Jason Marker is the ideal candidate to lead the KFC business in the U.S.," said Pant. "He has excellent commercial skills, with a deep understanding of consumer insights and concept development. He is also detail-oriented and works effectively with franchisees and has demonstrated leadership skills cross-functionally." Marker replaces John Cywinski, who has served as KFC U.S. President for the past three years and has made the personal decision to resign from the Company to pursue other opportunities. "I want to thank John Cywinski for his leadership and wish him every continued success with his new ventures. As we move forward, I couldn't be more confident that the best is yet to come-for our customers, our associates and our franchisees-as we leverage our brand portfolio to grow our business around the world. I am pleased that David Gibbs and Jason Marker, two seasoned executives who have risen through our system, will establish a seamless transition to grow our U.S. Pizza Hut and KFC businesses, respectively," Novak said. ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |