Yum! Brands, Inc. today announced the appointment of Roger Eaton, 47, as President of KFC USA. He replaces Gregg Dedrick, 49, who has made a personal decision to leave by year’s end after 20 years with the Company so that he may pursue several outside business ventures and academic coursework. Rather than waiting until the end of the year, the Company appointed Eaton to replace Dedrick now so that there is an orderly transition. Eaton will report directly to David C. Novak, Yum! Brands Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Dedrick will remain through a transition period until early 2009.
In his new role, Eaton will be responsible for KFC’s $5.3 billion domestic business, which is predominantly franchised across 5,300 restaurants. For the last five months, Eaton has served as Yum! Brands Chief Operating and Development Officer, responsible for sharing global Operations Best Practices.
