KFC has appointed Jenny Packwood to the role of interim chief marketing officer, as previous incumbent Jack Hinchliffe heads to the US.
Packwood takes on the additional responsibility on top of her role as chief corporate affairs & sustainability officer at KFC’s UK & Ireland division.
Hinchliffe is staying within the Yum! Brands group and has gone to California to become CMO at The Habit Burger Grill.
The Habit has more than 300 locations, mostly in California, but also in China, the UAE and Cambodia.
Acquired by Yum! in 2020, the brand previously had plans to launch in the UK, but these never came to fruition.
Packwood commented: “It’s no coincidence Marketing Week named us Brand of the Year during Jack’s time as CMO; it’s testament to his impact on the brand over recent years and his tenacious drive for distinctive, bold creative work. I’m thrilled to be stepping into the role as we all continue to push the business forward and further embed KFC in British & Irish culture. I truly love this brand, so it’s a complete honour to be given the opportunity to steward it for this period. We are blessed with an incredible team of fun, passionate, smart marketers, so honestly my job is simply to let them shine.”
Meghan Farren, MD, KFC UK&I added: “Jack’s journey at KFC UK&I is testament to both his growth as a business leader, and KFC’s passion for developing our people and helping them build careers to be proud of. Personally, I thank him for his commitment to our brand and look forward to following his progress within the Yum! Brands family as he crosses into his role at The Habit Burger in California.
Jenny was a natural choice for our Interim CMO, she’s an intuitive, natural brand builder with a tremendous ability to inspire, build teams and develop people – she is an all-round courageous business leader. It’s also a reflection of the degree to which the ESG agenda is embedded into our growth strategy, something that her time in role will only reinforce.”
