LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 2, 2026--
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) today announced that Tracy Skeans, Chief Operating Officer and Chief People & Culture Officer, plans to retire after more than 25 years with the company. Skeans will remain in her current role through late this year, after which she will move into an advisory position.
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“Over a remarkable 25-year career at Yum!, Tracy has been instrumental in shaping the company’s operational excellence model, culture, talent and long-term growth strategy,” said Chris Turner, Chief Executive Officer of Yum! Brands. “She spent more than a decade leading and growing the Pizza Hut business, ultimately serving as President of Pizza Hut International before joining the Yum! Brands executive leadership team. Having worked alongside Tracy for several years, I’ve seen firsthand the leadership, wisdom and heart she brings to every conversation and decision. Tracy has led Yum! through some of the most important moments in our history, including our transformation into a more focused, asset-light global franchisor, all while advancing enterprise capabilities, culture and talent across our global system. Her impact on Yum! will be felt for years to come.”
Skeans built an impressive career since joining Yum! Brands in 2000 as a finance analyst, steadily advancing through leadership roles and consistently delivering results at the intersection of talent, culture, finance and strategy.
After holding a series of senior finance and people leadership roles at Pizza Hut, Skeans became Chief People Officer for Pizza Hut U.S. and later Global Chief People Officer, where she helped shape the evolution of Yum! Brands’ international business structure into separate global brand divisions for KFC and Pizza Hut. She later served as President of Pizza Hut International, overseeing a business spanning more than 85 countries and thousands of restaurants worldwide.
In 2016, Skeans joined the Yum! Brands executive leadership team as Chief Transformation & People Officer, helping lead the company’s transition to a pure-play franchisor while advancing the company’s talent and culture strategy. In the years that followed, she played a central role guiding the company through the COVID-19 pandemic, the integration of Habit Burger & Grill and broader business transformation efforts across Yum! Brands’ global system.
Today, as Chief Operating Officer and Chief People & Culture Officer, Skeans has global responsibility for leading cross-brand collaboration on operational execution and people capability.
“Yum! has been a defining part of my career for more than 25 years, and I’m proud to have helped shape the company through some of its most important moments of growth and transformation,” said Skeans. “Together with the leadership team, franchisees and colleagues around the world, we’ve strengthened the business, advanced the capabilities that support our global system and reinforced a culture that makes Yum! such a special place. I look forward to supporting a seamless transition and the company’s continued success.”
Skeans’ responsibilities will transition to the company’s next Chief People & Culture Officer and Chief Scale Officer. Yum! Brands is working to fill both roles. Skeans will assist in the transition in her advisory role through early 2028.
About Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands, Inc., and its subsidiaries franchise or operate more than 63,000 restaurants in 155 countries and territories under its iconic brands — KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger & Grill. KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut are global leaders in the chicken, Mexican-inspired food and pizza categories, respectively. Habit is a fast-casual concept known for fresh, cooked-to-order food.
Fueled by Yum!’s Recipe for Good Growth, KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut led Entrepreneur's 2026 Franchise 500 rankings and its Top Global Franchises 2025 list. In 2026, Yum!’s unrivaled culture and talent led it to be named one of TIME magazine’s list of Best Companies for Future Leaders for the third consecutive year.
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) on June 2 announced that Tracy Skeans, Chief Operating Officer and Chief People & Culture Officer, plans to retire after more than 25 years with the company. Skeans will remain in her current role through late this year, after which she will move into an advisory position.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Controversial U.S. Senate hopefuls Ken Paxton, a Republican from Texas, and Graham Platner, a Democrat from Maine, are in the nation's capital Tuesday to shore up support within their respective parties, with Paxton's itinerary including a White House huddle with President Donald Trump.
The campaign pilgrimage by the two candidates, one from each end of the political spectrum, comes with both men facing concerns they could cost their parties winnable races in the November midterms, with control of the Senate at stake for the final two years of Trump's second presidency.
Paxton's planned meeting with Trump comes after he won the president's coveted endorsement ahead of trouncing Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas runoff last month. The scheduled meeting was confirmed by a person with knowledge of the president's plans but who was not authorized to discuss them publicly.
Senate Republicans feared that Paxton, the Texas attorney general, would be a weaker candidate against James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, in the fall. Paxton has endured an indictment, an impeachment and public disclosure of martial infidelity.
He also is expected to meet with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who backed Cornyn. Senate Republicans’ campaign arm excoriated Paxton during the primary campaign, accusing him of “repulsive and disgusting” behavior and quoting his estranged wife saying she filed for divorce “on biblical grounds.”
Platner will meet with several Democratic senators days after disclosure that he and his wife have had marital difficulties and sought counseling after he reportedly sent sexually explicit text messages to other women.
Both candidates are scheduled to attend fundraisers as well.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, who is set to meet with Platner, said he doesn’t believe Maine voters are focused on Platner’s marriage. Asked if Platner still has a shot in the race, Heinrich said “we’ll have to see" and “I suspect so.”
Platner and his wife have criticized media coverage of their marriage, framing it as a private matter that should not shape the campaign. Still, the latest personal issues added fuel to some Democrats' skittishness about Platner, who already faced scrutiny over online posts that were dismissive of sexual assault and a tattoo that is recognized as a Nazi symbol. Platner has apologized for the posts and covered up the tattoo.
Paxton has offered no apologies for his baggage. He framed his win over Cornyn as a “Texas-sized message to Washington,” and thanked Trump — who himself has endured repeated personal and political scandal to win two national elections — for his support.
Like Paxton, Platner was not the choice of his party's Senate brass, with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer backing Maine Gov. Janet Mills. But Platner effectively became the presumptive nominee after Mills suspended her campaign weeks ago because of fundraising difficulties.
Maine's primary is June 9, and Platner would face Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who is running for a sixth term, in November. Defeating Collins is crucial to Democrats' attempts to regain control of the Senate. Democrats have repeatedly tried to unseat Collins, but she has always survived. In 2020, Collins won reelection even though Democrat Joe Biden carried the state over Trump by nine percentage points.
In Texas, some Republicans fear they will need to divert critical resources to boost Paxton over Talarico, who has become a national fundraising phenomenon.
Although Republicans have dominated Texas for decades, prominent party leaders have said the race could be genuinely competitive this time. Eight years ago, during the midterm election of Trump's first presidency, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won reelection over another Democratic fundraising juggernaut, Beto O'Rourke, by less than 3 points.
Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate advantage and earlier in the campaign cycle were heavily favored to maintain their majority. But as Trump's popularity fades and primary fights yield nominees, Democrats have become more confident in their prospects.
With control of the Senate on the line, most partisans have generally lined up behind Platner and Paxton, even if begrudgingly because of their political baggage. Tuesday's fundraising events were the latest evidence. The event for Paxton, with a $1,000 minimum donation required, according to the invitation, is being co-hosted by seven senators, including Cruz. The fundraiser for Platner is being co-hosted by former Biden White House chief of staff Ron Klain.
“My priority is to make sure that Republicans control the majority so we can continue the agenda that we're on,” said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, on Tuesday. “Ken Paxton is absolutely necessary as far as keeping that majority. I have faith that the people of Texas will support him, and he'll get across the finish line."
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a progressive, said her top concern is Platner's prospective constituents.
“I want to hear from him about the economy,” she said ahead of their meeting. “And more about what he talks to the people of Maine about.”
That echoes another leading progressive who, like Warren, has endorsed Platner. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, said he still supports Platner as part of the left's economic populism.
“Of course,” Sanders told reporters Monday. “Why would I not?”
But not all Democrats are on board, including one who first came to the Senate with an outsider persona. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat who has earned a reputation for speaking and voting against his party, even appeared to relish Platner’s newest controversy, calling him “phustle,” a reference to Platner’s apparent profile uncovered on Kik, a popular, private messaging app.
“So much bizarre and tacky and gross stuff that you lose count. It’s like you need to have a bingo card,” Fetterman said.
The senator stopped stopped short of calling on Platner to drop out, but he echoed some Democrats' private concerns.
“I mean, what’s next?” he said.
Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa, and Barrow reported from Atlanta.
Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, greets supporters after speaking at an event hosted by Sen. Bernie Sanders in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Attendees celebrate after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, won the Republican party's nomination during a primary runoff election night event Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Plano, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
