Pizza Hut hires marketing chief

Pizza Hut UK has appointed David Lundholm, from parent company Tricon Restaurants International, as marketing director.

Lundolm, who was marketing and technical director for southern Europe and North Africa, replaces Gary Haigh, who quit in March to join Guinness as brands director.

Haigh introduced the series of celebrity ads for Pizza Hut in the UK, featuring stars such as former Chelsea coach Ruud Gullit.

The campaign has been credited with boosting Pizza Hut’s UK performance.

The 426-strong chain is a joint-venture in the UK with Whitbread. At last week’s results presentation, Whitbread said Pizza Hut’s sales over the past year had grown 11 per cent, with profits up nearly 40 per cent, though it declined to give precise figures.

Lundholm has previously worked for KFC as western and southern Europe marketing manager and for Allied Restaurants.

Jon Prinsell, president and chief executive officer of Pizza Hut (UK), says: “During the past four years in Spain, David has made a significant contribution to the successful turn-around of the business by applying a marketing strategy similar to that used here.”

But the UK success of Pizza Hut has not been replicated in other markets or brands run by Tricon, which was spun off from PepsiCo last year and comprises KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

The company announced in March that it was closing about 740 restaurants in the US and Europe.