Yum! Brands is eyeing growth for its Pizza Hut subsidiary as it recently announced a new C-suite appointment. The foodservice giant tapped Aaron Powell to lead the global Pizza Hut Division as the newest Chief Executive Officer, effective September 20. He will be working alongside Kevin Hochman, President and Chief Concept Officer KFC U.S. and Interim President Pizza Hut U.S., and Vipul Chawla, President Pizza Hut International.
“The chance to join an iconic, powerhouse global brand like Pizza Hut, combined with the backing of a world-class and culture-rich company like Yum! Brands, created an opportunity I knew I had to be a part of and simply couldn’t pass up,” said Powell. “I’m excited to work with Kevin and Vipul, and can’t wait to begin working alongside and building relationships with such a talented team of employees and franchisees around the world.”
Before joining Yum! Brands, Powell was the former President of Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s Asia-Pacific Consumer Business. In his new role, Powell will assume global responsibility for driving Pizza Hut Division’s growth strategies, franchise operations, and performance. He will be reporting to Yum! Chief Executive Officer David Gibbs.
“We couldn’t be happier to welcome Aaron to the Yum! Brands and Pizza Hut family and believe this global brand division leadership structure will enable the Pizza Hut U.S. and international teams to further implement best practices worldwide and continue their growth trajectory for franchisees and shareholders,” said Gibbs. “Aaron brings more than 25 years of deep experience in the business-to-business and consumer packaged goods sectors and is known for driving breakthrough innovation and delivering strong performance for iconic household name brands operating in complex environments around the world.”
According to the release, Hochman and Chawla will be reporting to Powell. This new partnership will be focusing on delivering product innovation, sustained sales improvement, and strong unit economics. In addition, Pizza Hut has continued investing in its off-premise channel in response to shifting consumer demand across the world.
“We’re fortunate to have a global growth strategist of Aaron’s caliber join the accomplished Pizza Hut leadership team,” Gibbs continued. “We’re thankful for Kevin Hochman and Vipul Chawla’s excellent leadership that has strengthened Pizza Hut and look forward to Aaron, Kevin, and Vipul partnering to lead the brand forward and deliver continued momentum in the U.S. and internationally.”
With more than 14 years in a variety of global leadership roles across business-to-business and consumer operations, Powell brings on board extensive experience in corporate strategy, M&A, sales, marketing, e-commerce, and operations. Most recently, as President of Kimberly-Clark’s Asia-Pacific consumer business, Powell was responsible for the company’s largest international region with operations in more than 30 countries, covering Australia, China, India, and South Korea. Prior to that, he led the Kimberly-Clark Professional business globally, including a wide range of commercial products and services; led the company’s consumer business in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and served as Managing Director of its consumer business in Central and Eastern Europe.
Powell previously spent four years with Bain & Company, one of the world’s largest strategic management consulting firms, serving in its consumer practice, and eight years in sales leadership and brand management roles at Procter & Gamble. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree from Washington University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Sherwin-Williams.
Congratulations to Aaron Powell on this amazing opportunity!
