DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pizza Hut, America’s Favorite Pizza, announced today that it has named Brian Niccol its Chief Marketing Officer. Niccol replaces Bill Ogle, who left the company to pursue outside opportunities after holding the post for nearly two years

“Brian is a great leader within the Pizza Hut organization,” said Scott Bergren, Pizza Hut president. “During the past few years he has hired top-notch staff to guide our brand marketing efforts. Additionally, through his brand positioning and customer segmentation work he has laid the foundation for stronger and more effective marketing efforts. I have no doubt that he will do great things for Pizza Hut as our new CMO.”

Brian Niccol was previously the VP of National Brand Marketing and Strategy where he was responsible for the development of a mega brand strategy and the development of all national brand marketing programs. In this role, he helped lead Pizza Hut in 2007 to its highest share level in three years while delivering same store sales growth.

Niccol joined Pizza Hut in 2005 as the VP of Strategy. In this role he created the brand strategy that has successfully re-positioned the brand for growth. Before joining Pizza Hut, Niccol spent ten years in various brand management positions at Procter & Gamble. He was recognized in an Advertising Age Special Report of “40 Under Forty” in 2007.

Niccol holds an undergraduate degree from Miami University (OH) and an MBA in Finance and Strategy from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business.

About Pizza Hut

As the world’s largest pizza restaurant company with almost 6,600 restaurants in the United States and more than 4,000 restaurants in 100 other countries, Pizza Hut, Inc., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) has been the place families have gathered for 49 years. The company’s legacy of leadership and innovation has made it the recognized leader in the $37 billion pizza category. Those hungry for more information can go to the official Pizza Hut Web site at www.pizzahut.com.