Yum! Brands, Inc. today announced the appointment of Greg Creed, 48, as the company’s chief operating officer, Creed will report directly to Yum! Chairman and CEO David Novak. He replaces Dave Deno, who resigned for personal family reasons.

As COO, Creed will oversee operations, quality assurance, and multi-branding initiatives, as well as , the Long John Silver’s and A&W brands. Additionally, Creed will lead a dedicated team charged with making Taco Bell a global brand. Brand COOs will report to their respective presidents and Creed, just as they did under Deno.

Creed is a U.S. and international restaurant industry veteran. Most recently, he served as chief marketing officer at Taco Bell, where he spearheaded the development and execution of the “Think Outside The Bun” marketing efforts credited with causing same-store sales growth during the last five consecutive years. Prior to that, Creed served as chief marketing officer and interim general manager of the KFC and Pizza Hut businesses in Australia and in various business-building roles at Unilever. “[Creed] has a great understanding of the power of customer focus, process and discipline and the commercial savvy that is required to drive both sales and profit growth,” says Novak. “

Bill Pearce, 43, will replace Creed as chief marketing officer at Taco Bell. He was recruited to Taco Bell last year in anticipation of Creed’s move to COO.