LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 31, 2025--
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) today announced that David Gibbs, Chief Executive Officer, has informed the Board of Directors of his intention to retire from the Company in the next year.
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The Board has established a succession planning committee and will work deliberately to identify and appoint the best candidate to lead the company’s next chapter. Gibbs will continue leading the company throughout the search process until his retirement, expected in the first quarter of 2026.
“During my time as CEO and throughout my 36 years with Yum! Brands, it has been an honor to work alongside this incredibly talented team and our dedicated franchisees to build the most loved, trusted, and connected restaurant brands around the world,” said Gibbs. “I set out to strengthen and broaden the appeal of our iconic brands, build industry-leading digital capabilities, dramatically accelerate the pace of profitable new unit development, and amplify our people-first culture. I am pleased with the progress we have made on all fronts and know that Yum! Brands is now stronger and more resilient than ever. I look forward to supporting the next CEO candidate and ensuring the company is set up for continued success. In the meantime, my focus remains on executing our strategy and delivering against our growth commitments.”
Gibbs has served as Yum! Brands’ CEO since January 2020. As CEO, Gibbs focused on leading the company’s digital transformation, building the Company’s development engine and delivering strong shareholder returns powered by a people-first culture of collaboration. Simultaneously, Gibbs also successfully navigated the Company through the COVID-19 pandemic and an increasingly complex operating environment, making the Company a top performer in the restaurant industry. During Gibbs’ tenure, digital sales surpassed $30 billion in 2024 with over 50% of sales through digital channels and the pace of annual net new unit development tripled, leading to more than 61,000 restaurant units worldwide.
“Along with the entire Board of Directors, I commend David for his dedication to Yum! Brands and applaud his transformative impact on the company – not just in his time as CEO, but throughout the entirety of his nearly four-decade career with Yum! Brands,” said Brian Cornell, Non-Executive Chairman of the Yum! Brands Board of Directors and Chairman and CEO of Target Corporation. “The Board is committed to overseeing a thorough succession planning process and appreciates David’s continued leadership of the business as well as the ample timeline provided to ensure a seamless leadership transition.”
About Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, and its subsidiaries franchise or operate a system of over 61,000 restaurants in more than 155 countries and territories under the company’s concepts – KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger & Grill. The Company's KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut brands are global leaders of the chicken, Mexican-inspired food, and pizza categories, respectively. Habit Burger & Grill is a fast casual restaurant concept specializing in made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches and more. In 2024, Yum! was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America, Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies, USA Today’s America’s Climate Leaders and 3BL’s list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens. In 2025, the Company was recognized among TIME magazine’s list of Best Companies for Future Leaders. In addition, KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut led Entrepreneur's Top Global Franchises 2024 list and were ranked in the first 25 of Entrepreneur’s 2025 Franchise 500, with Taco Bell securing the No. 1 spot in North America for the fifth consecutive year.
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) today announced that David Gibbs, Chief Executive Officer, has informed the Board of Directors of his intention to retire from the Company in the next year. The Board has established a succession planning committee and will work deliberately to identify and appoint the best candidate to lead the company’s next chapter. Gibbs will continue leading the company throughout the search process until his retirement, expected in the first quarter of 2026.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani met the moment again, and his latest theatrics have the Los Angeles Dodgers perfect to start the season.
The Japanese superstar hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning on his bobblehead night, lifting the Dodgers over the winless Atlanta Braves 6-5 on Wednesday.
“If I didn’t get a good pitch to hit, I was willing to walk,” Ohtani said through a translator. “Coming into the inning, tied in that last at-bat, it just felt like we really had a good shot to win.”
At 8-0, the Dodgers are off to the best start ever by a defending World Series champion. They've trailed in six of those games, but they already have two walk-off wins. And Ohtani has scored in every game.
“Overall, not just tonight, there is a really good vibe within the team,” he said, “so I just think that’s allowing us to come back in these games to win.”
A crowd of 50,281 roared as Ohtani's 399-foot shot sailed into center field and he rounded the bases.
“You just feel he's going to do something special,” manager Dave Roberts said.
It was hardly a surprise coming from last year's NL MVP.
In 2024, his first season with the Dodgers, Ohtani hit a game-ending grand slam on his first bobblehead night. He had a walk-off homer on another of his giveaway nights.
“He keeps getting into these situations and moments where you’re expecting the unthinkable out of him and he rarely disappoints. That's really saying something,” said teammate Max Muncy, whose two-run double tied the game in the eighth and set the stage for Ohtani.
Dodgers starter Blake Snell said: “When he was coming up and it’s his bobblehead night — everyone knew. We knew. It’s just what he does.”
Thousands lined up hours before first pitch to secure the first of four Ohtani bobbleheads this season. As like last year, traffic snarled around the stadium with helicopters showing the chaos on local television.
“Just grateful as a player to just be able to perform and have an opportunity like this,” said Ohtani, who finished 3 for 5. “I think the credit really goes to Max Muncy to be able to pull through and tie the game.”
Muncy ditched the new torpedo bat he had used earlier in favor of his usual lumber.
“I do think there was some good to using the torpedo bat, just in BP and everything,” he said. “It might be something that I use as a practice bat and then go back to my bat for the game. It seemed to work that last at-bat.”
The Dodgers rallied from a 5-0 deficit after Muncy's two early errors at third base led to five unearned runs by the Braves against Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner making his second start for his new team.
“I was dumbfounded with the way we were playing. I didn’t recognize that club in the first couple of innings,” Roberts said. “We had no business winning that game, but to our guys’ credit we just kept fighting.”
The bullpen picked up Snell, allowing just three hits over the final five innings. Rookie reliever Jack Dreyer earned his first major league win with two hitless innings.
“We all believe,” Snell said. “We got each other’s backs, and it’s a good feeling to have.”
For Muncy, it seems similar to last year's never-say-die attitude that helped the Dodgers to their eighth World Series title.
“We've been carrying it into this season. It’s been fun to watch,” he said. "The guys don’t give up. No one's really been down or out on themselves. Just seeing the guys in the clubhouse come together like that, it’s a pretty cool moment.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is congratulated after hitting a walk-off one-run home run against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
A bobblehead doll of Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is seen before a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Blake Snell throws against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is congratulated after a walk-off home run against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
From left to right, Los Angeles Dodgers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki and Shohei Ohtani celebrate after Max Muncy's two-run double to tie the game during the eight inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani throws his helmet in the air to celebrate a walk-off solo home run against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani hits a walk-off solo home run against as Atlanta Braves catcher Atlanta Braves' Chadwick Tromp looks on during the ninth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
