Yum Brands COO Tracy Skeans to retire after 25 years with Louisville-based company

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Yum Brands' chief operating officer is stepping down after more than 25 years with the Louisville-based restaurant company.

According to our partners at Louisville Business First, the company announced last week that Tracy Skeans plans to retire from her positions as COO and chief people and culture later this year. She will then step into an advisory role with the company.

Her current position will be divided into two roles — the chief people and culture role, and a chief scale officer. Yum is actively working to fill both positions.

"Tracy has led Yum through some of the most important moments in our history, including our transformation into a more focused, asset-light global franchisor, all while advancing enterprise capabilities, culture and talent across our global system," said Yum Brands CEO Chris Turner. "Her impact on Yum will be felt for years to come."

Skeans joined Yum Brands in 2000 as a financial analyst. She was promoted to the COO role in 2021.

While with the company, Skeans held multiple leadership roles within Pizza Hut, a Yum restaurant, and later served as president of Pizza Hut International.

She joined the Yum Brands executive staff in 2016 as chief transformation and people officer, and LBF reported she played a central role in guiding the company through the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her current role, Skean oversees cross-brand collaboration and help develop employees' skills and abilities.

"Yum has been a defining part of my career for more than 25 years, and I’m proud to have helped shape the company through some of its most important moments of growth and transformation," Skeans said. "Together with the leadership team, franchisees and colleagues around the world, we’ve strengthened the business, advanced the capabilities that support our global system and reinforced a culture that makes Yum such a special place."

Skeans will assist in the transition in her advisory role through early 2028.

Yum Brands and its subsidiaries franchise or operate more than 63,000 restaurants in 155 countries and territories under its brands — KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger & Grill.

The company has also seen a few other executive moves recently.

One of Yum's top brand executives, Scott Catlett, left the company in 2024. Turner only stepped into the CEO last year, and the company named a new CFO around the same time.

Most recently, the company donated its headquarters to Jefferson County Public Schools and chose the PNC Towers downtown as its new HQ location, where a $12 million renovation is planned.

More than 500 Yum Brands employees are expected to move into the tower by the end of the year.