• by Teresa Buyikian , Yesterday

Yum Brands didn’t have to look far for its new head after CEO David Gibbs announced his retirement last March.

The global QSR giant has hired Chris Turner as its new CEO, effective Oct. 1. Turner has served as chief financial and franchise officer for Yum since 2019.

The announcement follows the departure of Gibbs, who plans to retire in October after 37 years with the company. Gibbs will remain CEO until Sept. 30 and will stay on as an adviser to Yum Brands until the end of 2026.

“(Turner is) a proven leader with a deep understanding of the business, strategic expertise, financial acumen and unique perspectives that will help accelerate our growth,” said Brian Cornell, non-executive chairman of the Yum Brands board of directors, in the announcement.

Yum credits Turner with being “instrumental in accelerating the company’s digital and technology transformation,” through the establishment of Byte by Yum, (an AI-driven restaurant technology platform),  launching a centralized, global supply chain center, and the creation of new restaurant concept Saucy by KFC.

A “seamless” CEO transition is expected, according to an email from Morningstar senior equity analyst David Swartz. Following Turner’s appointment, “we project Yum will improve its operating margins to about 35% from about 32% over the next decade through its digital efforts and scale-based supply chain savings despite expected increases in promotional spending.”

Prior to Yum, Turner held several leadership roles at former parent company PepsiCo, where he led PepsiCo’s retail and ecommerce business with Walmart in the U.S. and more than 25 countries, as well as worked across PepsiCo’s brands in the beverage, snack and nutrition categories. Earlier in his career he spent over 13 years at McKinsey & Co., where he served as a partner in the firm’s Dallas office.

Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands, with close to 61,000 KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger & Grill restaurants in 155 countries, is the world’s second largest QSR operator next to McDonald’s.