Catherine Tan-Gillespie

President at KFC U.S.

Speaker

Catherine Tan-Gillespie is a transformational and authentic Multi-National Fortune 500 Executive, experienced in General Management, Global Brand Management, Marketing and Franchisee Governance, and who straddles strategy and executional excellence, with a proven track record of achieving exceptional results through disciplined process, developing people, and deep partnerships.

Catherine began her career in the UK as an intern at Hewlett-Packard and then joined the PepsiCo graduate program. She transferred to Australia in 2000 and held several roles in sales, marketing, strategy, and general management for large food and beverage businesses. She also worked for Sony Pictures, where she helped successfully merge with Universal Pictures and took a position on the board.
She joined KFC, Yum Brands! in 2015 as Marketing Director, and shortly after became Chief Marketing Officer for the South Pacific region and later served as KFC Global CMO. Following that, she was President and General Manager of KFC Canada, where her team and franchise partners transformed the business through restaurant upgrades, digital ordering enhancements, compelling value deals, and award-winning advertising. Before becoming KFC US President in 2025, she onboarded into the US business, while serving as Chief Marketing and Development Officer for 8 months.

Catherine holds a bachelor's degree in business (with honors) from the University of Plymouth in the U.K. and an MBA (with excellence) from the University of New South Wales in Australia.