Taco Bell, KFC Parent Yum! Brands Announces New CEO

Fast food giant Yum! Brands (YUM) will have a new CEO later this year, when CFO Chris Turner will take over the top job from the retiring David Gibbs.

Gibbs, who has been CEO since 2020 and with Yum! Brands in various capacities for 37 years, informed the company’s board in March of his plans to retire in the next year. On Tuesday, the Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut parent company said Gibbs will retire at the end of September, and remain as an advisor through the end of 2026.

Turner will become CEO on Oct. 1, the company said Tuesday. He has served as CFO since 2019, and last year also took on the title of Chief Franchise Officer.

In its latest quarterly results in April, Yum! reported a 12% bump in first-quarter revenue from the same time a year ago to $1.79 billion as same-store sales rose at KFC and Taco Bell, but declined 2% at Pizza Hut.

Shares of the fast-food company were down less than 1% Tuesday morning. They entered the day up about 5% since the start of the year.