IRVINE, CALIF. — Taco Bell Corp., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., has announced the addition of three new positions as well as expanded roles within its leadership team. The appointments are part of Taco Bell’s strategy to become a $15 billion company with 9,000 restaurants globally by 2022.
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| Julie Felss Masino, brand president for Taco Bell |
Julie Felss Masino has been named brand president, with responsibility for ensuring Taco Bell continues to deliver same-store sales growth through innovation, new store development and customer service. She also will oversee the brand’s partnership with franchisees. She joins the company from Mattel Inc., where she led the Fisher Price division. Previously, she held various leadership positions at Starbucks.
“We are proud of the momentum the Taco Bell brand has seen globally and the continued growth here at home,” said Brian Niccol, chief executive officer. “We are expanding our leadership team and are excited to bring on Julie as brand president to continue our success and innovation, with a renewed focus on technology and greater access to the brand for consumers.”
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| Liz Matthews, chief food innovation officer at Taco Bell |
Liz Matthews, chief food innovation officer at Taco Bell, will assume additional responsibilities with oversight of international capabilities, including research and development, quality assurance and engineering. Mike Grams, currently chief operating officer, will become chief operations and development officer and will oversee growth in Canada and global operations. Marisa Thalberg, currently chief marketing officer, will serve as chief brand officer with new responsibility for e-commerce, internal communications, events and marketing strategy.
Elizabeth Baicy has been named vice-president, digital and future works, and Jon Kosoff has been named vice-president, e-commerce and performance marketing. In these new roles, Ms. Baicy and Mr. Kosoff will lead Taco Bell’s new technology initiatives.
Ms. Baicy joins the company from Amazon and brings 15 years of technology experience to the role. Mr. Kosoff previously was senior vice-president of e-commerce and CRM at clothing retailer Hot Topic Inc.
“Our fantastic relationship with our franchisees and our growth mindset have enabled us to create an aggressive plan to make Taco Bell an all-access brand,” Mr. Niccol said. “We are thrilled to have Elizabeth and Jon join our team and apply their extensive tech knowledge to execute our ideas to meet consumers where they are with unparalleled access to the brand.”
