Kentucky Fried Chicken announced that it has named Thuthuka Nxumalo Chief Operations Officer for KFC U.S., effective February 5. He will report to Tarun Lal, president of KFC U.S.
In this role, Nxumalo will be responsible for building a world-class operations strategy and enabling consistent execution in every KFC U.S. restaurant.
“Thuthuka is a seasoned operator with a proven track record of driving operational best practices,” says Lal. “With his ability to identify opportunities for rapid improvements and rally teams to provide exceptional service, I am confident Thuthuka is the right leader to drive a winning guest experience for KFC U.S.”
Nxumalo joins KFC U.S. from KFC Africa, where he spent the past three years as chief operations officer. During this period, he drove remarkable improvements in key operations metrics across KFC in Africa.
Prior to KFC, Nxumalo was with Anheuser-Busch InBev for nearly four years as Brewery Operations Director for South Africa. Before that, he spent more than 15 years with SABMiller and South African Breweries in various roles. Nxumalo has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Cape Town University and a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
In addition to Nxumalo’s appointment, Christophe Poirier will join KFC U.S.as Chief New Concept Officer, on February 1, 2024, reporting to Lal.Poirier will work to continue to modernize the KFC concept in collaboration with the current leadership team. He has been with Yum! Brands since 2005 and spent the last eight years with Pizza Hut, most recently as global chief brand officer.
