Yum! Brands, Inc. has promoted Kevin Hochman to President and Chief Concept Officer of KFC U.S., reporting to Roger Eaton, Chief Executive Officer of KFC Global, effective immediately. Hochman, 43, will assume responsibility for driving overall KFC brand strategy and performance of the business in the U.S. with a continued focus on customers, franchisees, innovation and operational efficiency.
Kevin Hochman joined KFC U.S. as Chief Marketing Officer over three years ago. With Hochman’s leadership, KFC U.S. has grown same-store sales and transactions for ten consecutive quarters, bringing millions of customers back into the brand and fostering tighter collaboration with franchisees across the U.S. He previously worked in a number of brand management and marketing leadership roles at Procter & Gamble since 1995, including many of the company’s iconic brands in deodorant, shave and personal cleaning categories.
“Kevin Hochman is an exceptional brand builder and marketing innovation leader with an extremely strong track record of success,” said Greg Creed, Chief Executive Officer, Yum! Brands. “He has led KFC’s incredible brand re-launch and brought back the greatest chicken salesman in the world, Colonel Sanders, to pop culture. He’s the perfect person to continue to grow and elevate KFC U.S. into a distinctive, relevant brand that people trust and champion. Kevin’s promotion is evidence that the power of Yum! Brands is our unrivaled culture and talent which gives us the advantage of drawing from a strong bench of executives when bigger leadership opportunities like this one arise.”
Hochman replaces Jason Marker, 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.
“Kevin is a talented leader and brilliant marketer who cares deeply about the KFC U.S. business, his team and the success of our franchisees,” said Eaton. “He has played a key role in the Re-Colonelization effort – driving structural thinking, collaborative franchise relationships, great brand positioning and excellent advertising – which has contributed to the brand’s turnaround in the U.S. Kevin and his team are well positioned to ensure a seamless transition and focused on successfully executing KFC’s long-term growth strategy with our franchise partners in the U.S.”
Eaton added, “I want to thank Jason Marker for his strong leadership and the many contributions he has made to Yum! Brands and KFC U.S. over the years and wish him continued success. As we look ahead, I couldn’t be more excited about the strength, growth and future of the KFC brand in the U.S. for our customers, employees and franchisees.”
