Yum! Brands, Inc. has announced the chief executive officer of its subsidiary KFC Division, Roger Eaton, will retire at the end of 2018. Eaton will be succeeded by Tony Lowings, effective from 1 January 2019.
Lowings, a 24-year veteran of KFC and its parent company will report to CEO of Yum! Brands, Greg Creed. Yum Brands, based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 45,000 restaurants – including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – in more than 140 countries and territories, opening over seven new restaurants per day on average, making it a leader in global retail development.
Lasting legacy
Eaton has been with Yum! Brands and KFC for more than 20 years, leading the KFC brand globally since 2014. Throughout his successful career with the company, he has held a number of leadership positions including chief operations officer of Yum! Brands, chief executive officer of KFC US, chief operating and development officer of Yum! Brands and senior vice president/managing director of Yum! Restaurants International South Pacific (SOPAC), among others.
“I want to thank Roger Eaton, a dear colleague and friend to many, for his tremendous service, dedication and significant contributions to our business over the past two decades,” says Creed. “Roger’s imprint on our culture, people and the KFC brand is vast and his legacy is lasting.”
In his new role, Lowings, 60, will take on global responsibility for driving the brand strategy and performance of KFC, the world’s most popular chicken restaurant brand with more than $24 billion in global system sales and more than 21,000 restaurants in over 130 countries and territories as of year-end 2017. All general managers of KFC globally (including KFC US) as well as leaders of KFC’s global functions, will report to Lowings when he assumes the new role.
Highly respected
“Tony Lowings is an outstanding leader with deep knowledge of our business and a strong track record of growing KFC’s presence and strengthening the brand’s competitive position with our franchise partners in markets around the world,” says Creed.
“As a proven and highly respected strategic brand builder, high-impact operations leader and people grower, Tony is the perfect person to continue elevating KFC into a distinctive, relevant and easy global brand that people trust and champion. I’m extremely confident Tony and his management team will establish a seamless transition and continue to successfully execute KFC’s long-term global growth strategies in partnership with our franchisees.”
Lowings has previously held a variety of leadership positions at Yum! Brands across the finance division, operations and general management in several international business units. Prior to becoming president and COO of KFC Division earlier this year, Lowings was managing director of Asia-Pacific, a high-growth region for the brand representing 23 markets and comprising more than 50 percent of all KFC Division restaurants. During this time, Lowings provided coaching and support to the KFC business units in India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and the Asia franchise business unit.
Unique brands
Lowings previously served as managing director of KFC SOPAC (Australia and New Zealand) where he was instrumental in growing the business and establishing KFC as one of the region’s most distinctive and unique brands. Lowings’ career at the company includes roles as chief operations officer of Yum! Restaurants International, managing director of Latin America and the Caribbean for KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell and general manager of KFC and Pizza Hut in Australia and New Zealand.
“I’m thrilled and incredibly privileged to continue working with our committed KFC leaders and amazing franchise partners to further strengthen and accelerate the development of our powerhouse global brand,” says Lowings. “KFC is an iconic, well-loved brand with millions of fans and I couldn’t be more excited about its future.”
