KARACHI: Pakistan’s Sabir Sami, who graduated from Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi, has been appointed named as global division chief executive officer (CEO) of KFC.
According to a statement by Yum! Brands, Sabir will be taking charge of the position after Tony Lowings who is stepping down as chief executive 2021-end. Sami, through his new role, will assume global responsibility for driving the brand strategy and performance of KFC.
While praising the skills of Sabir Sami, Yum! Brands Chief Executive Officer David Gibbs said, “Sabir is an exceptional leader with deep expertise and knowledge of our business and has a strong, proven track record of growing KFC’s physical and brand presence in markets around the world”.
“As a highly-respected strategic brand builder, operations expert and heart-led leader, Sabir is a natural choice to continue successfully executing KFC’s long-term global growth strategies in close partnership with our franchisees and further elevate KFC as a relevant, easy and distinctive (R.E.D.) brand”, Gibbs added.
In addition to his roles at KFC, Sabir dually serves as Managing Director of KFC Asia, a high-growth region for the brand representing 17 markets, excluding China, and comprising more than 15 per cent of all KFC Division restaurants.
Sabir’s previous roles include those at Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Reckitt Benckiser. The 54-year-old has been associated with Yum for the past 12 years.
Expressing his delight over the promotion to global division, Sami said, “I’m incredibly privileged and excited to continue working with our talented and dedicated KFC leaders and amazing franchise partners around the world to keep strengthening and accelerating the development of our powerful, iconic brand”.
