• by Teresa Buyikian , January 27, 2025

We now know for whom the bell tolls -- at least when it comes to the head of Taco Bell.

The taco QSR hired Meghan Farren as president of North America. She fills the shoes left vacant by the recent departure of Scott Mezvinsky, who is leaving to assume the role of KFC CEO at the end of Feb.

Meanwhile, Farren comes from KFC, a company owned by Yum Brands, just like Taco Bell.  She spent 10 years at the fried chicken purveyor, most recently serving as general manager of KFC UK and Ireland (UK&I) since Sept. 2022. She previously served as chief marketing officer for KFC UK&I from 2015 to 2021, and before that as innovation director, beginning in 2011.

During her time at KFC UK&I, Farren “led the business through a multiyear turnaround, transforming KFC into a modern, relevant, and distinctive brand whilst delivering same store sales and profit growth,” per her LinkedIn profile.

Farren has also served as chief customer officer at Asda, UK grocery chain, as well as holding senior positions at dessert CPG Gu Chocolate Puds. Earlier in her career she spent time at Marakon and JPMorgan.

Yum Brands  also promoted Rob Swain to replace Farren as general manager of KFC UK&I. Swain has been COO for KFC Global since 2022.

Taco Bell is Yum Brands’ largest chain and accounted for over 70% of visits to the company’s U.S. restaurants in Q3 2024, per a recent report from foot traffic firm Placer.ai. The company also reported that the chain’s National Taco Day (Tues. Oct.1, 2024) $1 taco promotion, resulted in a 14.7% increase above the chain’s daily year-to-date (YTD) average, and 18.4% above the chain’s Tuesday YTD average.