DALLAS  – Joe Kim has been named chief operations officer of Pizza Hut, a division of Yum! Brands, Inc.

Mr. Kim was most recently senior vice-president of strategy and growth at Valero Energy. He has experience in field and franchise operations, strategic planning, merchandising, development, mergers and acquisitions and investor relations.

“Joe is well suited to this new role at Pizza Hut, having extensive multi-unit operations leadership experience from consulting and the convenience store industry,” said Scott Bergren, chief executive officer and president of Pizza Hut. “His background and accomplishments have given him a uniquely broad business perspective and have left him distinctively well prepared to lead our operations team.”