Effective from January 1, 2022, Yum! Brands Inc has named Sabir Sami as global division chief executive officer of KFC. Sami, presently managing director of KFC Asia, will succeed Tony Lowings who is stepping down as chief executive 2021-end.
In the new role, Sami will assume global responsibility for driving the brand strategy and performance of KFC, a statement released by Yum! Brands said.
KFC Asia has been a high-growth region representing 17 markets and comprises over 15% of all KFC division restaurants. India is a strategic, high-potential growth market for Yum, which also operates Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, and follows primarily a franchisee-based operational model. For the second quarter ended June 2021, Yum! Brands had reported an over two-fold jump in system sales of KFC and Pizza Hut in India. The growth came on the back of a nationwide lockdown in the April-June corresponding year-ago quarter. KFC India had reported 221% system sales growth for India and area countries, and had given a guidance of being ‘cautiously optimistic’ for the second half of 2021. The Indian business represents less than 1% of global system sales for KFC and Pizza Hut.
Sami’s previous roles include those at Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Reckitt Benckiser. Sami, 54, has been associated with Yum for 12 years. He will report to Yum! Chief executive officer David Gibbs. KFC is Yum!’s largest brand with a footprint of more than 25,000 restaurants.
KFC division added nearly $4 billion in system sales from digital channels last year to grow the KFC digital business to about $10 billion in system sales in 2020, the statement added.