Yum! Brands Promotes Tony Lowings To KFC Division CEO - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) said Friday it has promoted Tony Lowings, 60, to KFC Division Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2019. He will report to Yum! Brands Chief Executive Officer, Greg Creed.

Lowings, a 24-year veteran of the company, who currently serves as KFC Division President and Chief Operating Officer, will succeed Roger Eaton who is retiring at the end of 2018.

In this new role, Lowings will assume global responsibility for driving the brand strategy and performance of KFC.

KFC is a 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.

General Managers of KFC around the world, including KFC U.S., as well as leaders of KFC's global functions, will report to Lowings, effective January 1, 2019.

Lowings has held a variety of leadership positions at Yum! Brands across finance, 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.

Roger Eaton has been with Yum! Brands and KFC for more than 20 years, leading the KFC brand globally since 2014.

Throughout his career with the company, Eaton has held a number of leadership positions including Chief Operations Officer of Yum! Brands, Chief Executive Officer of KFC U.S., and Chief Operating and Development Officer of Yum! Brands, among others.