LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Rick Carucci has been promoted to president of Yum! Brands, Inc., reporting to David C. Novak, chairman and chief executive officer. Mr. Carucci has been the company’s chief financial officer since 2005.

The leaders of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut in the United States, Yum! Restaurants International (YRI) and corporate finance will report to Mr. Carucci, while the c.e.o.s of China and India, as well as the Yum! corporate functional leaders, will continue to report to Mr. Novak.

Mr. Carucci is a 16-year-veteran of the restaurant industry, including senior general management, financial and development roles for Yum! Restaurants International. Before becoming the company’s c.f.o. in 2005, he was c.f.o. and head of development of its International Division. Over the course of his restaurant career, he has had general management responsibility for the company’s businesses in Canada, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Korea, the Middle East and North Africa.

“Rick Carucci is an extraordinarily talented executive,” Mr. Novak said. “He is a strategic thought leader, has great commercial savvy and at the same time, has clearly established himself as a champion of our powerful recognition culture. Along with Sam Su, chairman and c.e.o. of Yum! China, Rick is an instrumental partner to me running Yum!. Sam Su and I have committed to the Yum! board of directors that we will continue to be actively involved in the leadership of our company in the coming years. With Rick Carucci’s promotion, we have created a management triumvirate to best leverage scale and capitalize on our aggressive growth opportunities in emerging markets including China, India, Russia, Africa, France and Germany. These opportunities simply did not exist when we started our company 15 years ago.”

The company also announced the promotion of Patrick Grismer to c.f.o. Mr. Grismer previously was chief planning and control officer.

“Pat has worked closely over the years with Rick Carucci and me and has held a number of senior finance roles that have fully prepared him to become the corporation’s chief financial officer,” Mr. Novak said. “We expect a seamless transition.”

Mr. Grismer is a 10-year veteran of the company, with most immediate responsibility for corporate strategy, planning and control. He previously held domestic and international finance positions, including c.f.o. of YRI, corporate vice-president of strategy and investor relations, c.f.o. of Pizza Hut (U.K.), vice-president of planning at YRI, and senior director of finance at Taco Bell. Prior to joining Yum!, he spent 10 years at The Walt Disney Co. in a series of finance executive positions. He also was as a senior consultant at Price Waterhouse.