Pizza Hut names new CMO, global chief brand officer as sales slide

Dive Brief:

Pizza Hut appointed Kalen Thornton as global chief brand officer and Melissa Friebe as U.S. chief marketing officer, according to a press release.
Thornton, who previously worked in marketing at PepsiCo and Nike, will lead Pizza Hut's brand strategy and oversee marketing across 110 markets and territories. Friebe will lead all aspects of marketing in the U.S. and most recently was chief brand strategy officer at Taco Bell.
The new appointments come weeks after Pizza Hut named Carl Loredo, previously global chief marketing officer for Wendy's, as its new U.S. president. The executive shake-up follows a weak Q1 in which the chain saw same-store sales decrease 6% in the U.S. and 8% internationally.

Dive Insight:

Pizza Hut continues to reshape its executive lineup as the chain faces declining sales, which it partially attributed in its most recent earnings call to ongoing impact from the conflict in the Middle East. Thornton, who will report to Pizza Hut Division CEO Aaron Powell effective June 10, is tasked with bringing on a "new chapter of relevance" for the pizza chain by engaging customers across physical and digital channels and maintaining its status as a "cultural icon."

“I believe creativity, community and culture bring people together,” Thornton said in a press release. “I'm humbled at the opportunity to contribute to Pizza Hut's long legacy as a brand that connects across those dimensions, and I'm thrilled to help shape the future resonance and growth of this iconic brand.”

The executive most recently served as vice president of sports and entertainment marketing at PepsiCo North America and previously served as CMO for Gatorade and held multiple roles at the Nike and Jordan brands. While at PepsiCo, Thornton leveraged media, content and activation investments, per the release — the type of work that speaks to how brands like Pizza Hut look to connect with consumers around culture.

Friebe will report to incoming president Loredo and joins Pizza Hut from sister Yum Brands chain Taco Bell, where she held a number of positions over nearly three decades with the brand. She succeeds Lindsay Morgan, who is departing after more than eight years at Pizza Hut.

The moves follow the recent appointment of Loredo, who spent over eight years with Wendy’s and helped the chain grow its digital sales business, scale new occasions and unseat Burger King as the #2 burger chain in the country.

Pizza Hut has been an active marketer this year. The chain last week asked consumers to “cheat on their cheeseburger” with a QR-code enabled geoconquesting effort around the launch of its Cheeseburger Melt. Previously, Pizza Hut gave consumers in select markets the opportunity to send a free “Goodbye Pie” to a future ex while drafting breakup texts for consumers in other markets around Valentine's Day.