Louisville, Ky. — Yum! Brands, Inc. has promoted Sean Tresvant to Taco Bell division chief executive officer, reporting to Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs, effective January 1, 2024. Tresvant, who currently serves as global chief brand and strategy officer of Taco Bell, will succeed Mark King, who plans to retire at the end of 2023. As CEO, Tresvant will assume global responsibility for driving Taco Bell’s growth strategies, franchise operations and overall performance.
“Sean is a visionary business leader and best-in-class brand builder who is driving transformative R.E.D. (relevant, easy, distinctive) sales-powering efforts, from omnichannel initiatives to digital customer touchpoints, to accelerate growth and further elevate and differentiate the Taco Bell fan and team member experience,” says Gibbs. “Sean is laser focused on keeping our powerhouse Taco Bell brand at the leading edge of culture and redefining innovation in the industry. That’s why he is the ideal executive to continue successfully executing Taco Bell’s long term global growth strategies and take them to the next level in partnership with the brand’s strong and accomplished leadership team and incredible franchisees. Sean, Mark and I will continue to work closely together over the coming months to ensure a seamless transition.”
Tresvant joined Taco Bell in January 2022 as global chief brand officer. He was promoted to an expanded role as global chief brand and strategy officer earlier this year, focused on developing perspective and ambition for long term global growth. As global chief brand and strategy officer of Taco Bell, Tresvant has overseen the brand’s strategy, food innovation, architecture and design and global communications functions as well as the Taco Bell International business. During his time with Taco Bell, Tresvant has set a powerful strategic framework that has created iconic moments within culture and driven massive awareness and buzz for the brand, including several high-profile celebrity partnerships and the return of the fan favorite Mexican Pizza. Prior to joining Taco Bell, Tresvant spent more than 15 years in leadership roles at Nike including chief marketing officer of the Jordan Brand.
Taco Bell Defy design.
King joined Taco Bell in 2019 after successfully leading global sporting goods businesses with adidas. Under King’s leadership, the Taco Bell business prioritized on-trend innovation, leaned into everyday value and grew from strength to strength, finishing 2022 with same-store sales growth of 8%. Taco Bell’s digital business keeps growing, reporting 40% growth year over year in 2022, and the brand is leading the industry in exciting asset innovation such as the first-of-its kind Defy restaurant featuring a two-story design with a proprietary vertical lift to transport iconic Taco Bell menu items straight from the kitchen to fans. Additionally, the brand’s international business hit a significant development milestone as it reached 1,000 units globally in 2022.
SOURCE: Yum! Brands, Inc.