Our Leadership

Maria Cacciapuoti is the Global Chief Operations Officer helping shape the performance and growth of the brand across more than 150 countries worldwide.

Originally from Italy, Maria has built a truly international career across Europe and Asia, taking on leadership roles spanning Operations, General Management, Finance, People and Franchising.

Most recently, she led KFC North Asia, a fully franchised business of approximately 2,000 restaurants across Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mongolia. After more than 11 years with KFC, Maria continues to be driven by learning, taking on new challenges and building a stronger, more modern KFC for the future.

Maria has a finance background with a degree in Economics and an MBA in fiscal accounting.

Prior to joining Yum!, Maria worked in an investment bank, then approximately nine years for McDonald’s and three years for Autogrill SPA, in different management roles.

Known for her curiosity, energy and ability to connect people and ideas, Maria is passionate about turning strategy into action and creating the right conditions for teams and franchise partners to succeed. She believes the best solutions often come from connecting what is working across different markets and cultures — then finding ways to scale it.

In her spare time Maria loves travelling and spending time with her husband, Gianluca, and her family.

Favorite KFC menu item: Zinger burger! Love the spiciness kick.

Favorite KFC memory: Having been part of the Korea success story, seeing our franchise partner recognized at our global marketing planning meeting was incredibly special — a wonderful reminder that the greatest rewards come from what we achieve together.