Yum! Brands, Inc. announced Wednesda that Chris Turner, 44, will join the company as Chief Financial Officer, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Greg Creed, effective August 8. In this role, Turner will assume global responsibility for finance, corporate strategy, supply chain and information technology.
Turner joins Yum! Brands from PepsiCo, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President and General Manager leading PepsiCo’s retail and ecommerce businesses with Walmart in the U.S. and more than 25 countries and across PepsiCo’s brands in the beverage, snack and nutrition categories. Today’s announcement concludes the previously announced search for Yum! Brands’ top financial post, which is currently held by David Gibbs, the company’s president, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
“On behalf of our leadership team and the Board of Directors, I am pleased to welcome Chris Turner to Yum! Brands as our new Chief Financial Officer. From his time at PepsiCo to his years at McKinsey & Company, Chris brings nearly 20 years of strategy, finance, M&A and operations leadership to Yum! Brands,” says Creed. “We are confident that Chris’ commercial experience with iconic consumer-oriented companies, particularly across the quick-service restaurant and retail sectors, will prove instrumental as we drive global growth, leveraging our unprecedented scale and maximizing value for our customers, franchisees, employees and shareholders.”
“Chris’ deep experience in the consumer sector, strong financial acumen and track record of growth leadership make him perfect for the CFO role at Yum! Brands. He has extensive experience delivering on aggressive performance targets and helping industry leaders navigate complex operating environments, M&A, disruptive innovation and category transformation, which will be invaluable to our company,” adds Gibbs. “Chris will be a strategic partner as we leverage our scale to drive global same-store sales and net-new unit growth and improve franchise unit economics.”
Before leading PepsiCo’s Walmart business, Turner served as Senior Vice President of Transformation for PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America business, where he led the optimization of Frito-Lay’s world-class direct-store delivery capability as part of a broader transformation of the end-to-end value chain. Previously, he led the long-term strategic planning processes related to growth acceleration, category expansion and M&A as Senior Vice President of Strategy for Frito-Lay.
Chris previously spent more than 13 years at McKinsey & Company, one of the world’s largest strategic management consulting firms, where he served as a Partner in the firm’s Dallas office. During his time at the firm, he led the Service Operations practice in North America, the Restaurant Service Line and the Retail Operations team—over time serving clients in the retail, restaurant, consumer packaged goods, airline, high-tech and media industries. He holds an MBA from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Arkansas.
“It’s a privilege to join the world’s largest restaurant company, and I look forward to partnering with Yum! Brands’ global leadership team to drive growth and profitability for the company’s iconic KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands, franchisees and shareholders,” says Turner. “Yum! Brands’ laser-focused business strategy, financial discipline and emphasis on development, innovation and company culture are true differentiators, and I’m thrilled to be part of the company’s future success.”