The man who spearheaded the Taco Bell “Think Outside the Bun” marketing campaign has joined the Whirlpool Corporate Board of Directors today, with his appointment taking place immediately. Greg Creed, Chief Executive Officer of Yum! Brands, Inc. drew the assignment at Whirlpool’s corporate board meeting today in Chicago.
Whirlpool Chairman & CEO Jeff Fettig says of Creed, “As the chief executive officer of a global consumer business, Greg’s exceptional leadership skills and depth of experience make him an outstanding addition to our board of directors.”
Creed has served as CEO of Yum! since January 2015, and leads the company’s overarching strategies, structure, people development and culture. He was elected to his own company’s board of directors in November 2014.
Prior to being named to lead the parent company, Creed was chief executive officer of Taco Bell, a position he held beginning in early 2011, after serving as president and chief concept officer for Taco Bell. Prior to joining Yum! in 1994, Creed worked with Unilever in Australia, London and New York. He holds a business degree from the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
Creed has more than 30 years of extensive experience in marketing and operations with leading packaged goods and restaurant brands including 20 years at Yum!. Prior to his selection as CEO at Yum!, Creed was head of Taco Bell and was responsible for driving overall brand strategy and performance of the business in the U.S. and internationally. He has held various roles with the company including his role as Chief Marketing Officer at Taco Bell where he spearheaded the “Think Outside the Bun” campaign and new product introductions that generated strong sales and profit growth for five consecutive years, as well as Chief Operating Officer for Yum! where he created a people-focused leadership approach for global operations and led the strategic development for Taco Bell International.
Creed joins the board at Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool, which is the number one major appliance manufacturer in the world, with approximately $21 billion in annual sales, 93,000 employees and 70 manufacturing and technology research centers throughout the world in 2016.
In other action today, Whirlpool’s board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share on the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable March 15, 2017, to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 3, 2017.
