KFC UK appointed Taco Bell marketing director as CMO
Monica Pool will become CMO of KFC UK and Ireland in autumn 2023. She is no stranger to the brand, having originally joined in 2009, working at the fast-food chain for over 10 years before joining Taco Bell as marketing director.
KFC UK and Ireland Names New CMO Following Former Marketing Lead’s Departure
Monica Pool has been appointed as the new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for KFC UK and Ireland, filling the position that was left vacant after the departure of former marketing head Jack Hinchliffe six months ago.
Monica Pool comes to this role from her recent position as the UK and Europe Marketing Director at Taco Bell, a sister brand under the Yum! Brands umbrella, where she had been serving since December 2020.
This marks Pool’s second tenure at KFC. Her journey began in 2009 as a Marketing Manager in South Africa, and she went on to work across various regions in central and eastern Europe for the chain. In 2015, she assumed the role of Marketing Director for KFC in the UK and Ireland, eventually earning a promotion to Director of People Transformation in 2019.
KFC emphasizes that Pool’s time as Marketing Director greatly influenced the brand’s creative vision and played a pivotal role in its transformation. During her stint at Taco Bell, her leadership contributed to the enhancement of the brand’s health, increased media presence, and improved marketing effectiveness, as stated by Yum! Brands.
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Monica Pool is set to return to KFC UK and Ireland as CMO in early autumn. Following Jack Hinchliffe’s departure and internal transition to become CMO of another Yum! brand, Habit Burger Grill, Jenny Packwood, Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer, temporarily assumed the responsibility of leading KFC’s marketing efforts.
Taking on her new role as KFC’s CMO for the UK and Ireland, Monica Pool will report to Meghan Farren, a former CMO herself, who returned to the company in June of the previous year as General Manager. Meghan Farren, previously the Chief Customer Officer at Asda, praises Pool as the ideal individual to lead KFC’s brand and marketing efforts.
According to Farren, Pool is a remarkable leader who is dedicated to developing people and teams with passion and purpose. In the current challenging operational landscape, Pool’s energy, positivity, and creativity are anticipated to be highly valuable.
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Earlier this year, Meghan Farren shared with Marketing Week that her role as General Manager involves empowering the marketing team and granting them a certain degree of autonomy. She emphasized that KFC still holds significant potential, particularly in realms like customer experience and its positive impact on the communities it serves.
Monica Pool resonates with these sentiments, expressing excitement about the ongoing brand evolution to achieve exceptional results while fostering positive change in the communities KFC engages with. She conveys her honor in assuming this role.
Monica Pool’s extensive career spans nearly 15 years at Yum! Brands. Prior to this, she gained experience in marketing within FMCG companies in South Africa and also held the position of an Account Director at The Hardy Boys Advertising Agency.
