Former KFC CEO Sabir Sami Appointed To Chipotle Board Of Directors.
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Chipotle Mexican Grill has appointed Sabir Sami, the former global chief executive of KFC and a veteran consumer-goods executive, to its board of directors as an independent director, effective immediately. Sami brings over three decades of restaurant and corporate leadership experience, most recently serving as global CEO of KFC from January 2022 to February 2025 following a 16-year tenure across Yum! Brands.His extensive international background includes leading operations across Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey, alongside prior leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, The Coca-Cola Company, and Reckitt Benckiser. Chipotle Chairman Scott Maw noted that Sami’s deep operational expertise will support the restaurant chain's ongoing global expansion. The appointment brings Chipotle's board to 11 directors (including 10 independent members) as the company scales past 4,200 locations worldwide and pursues its international growth strategy.
Chipotle Mexican Grill has appointed Pakistan-born business executive Sabir Sami, the former global chief executive of KFC, to its board of directors, effective immediately.
Sami brings more than 30 years of global consumer and restaurant industry experience, including 16 years at Yum! Brands, where he held senior leadership positions across KFC, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill.
He served as KFC’s global CEO from January 2022 to February 2025, overseeing the brand’s worldwide strategy and performance and reporting directly to Yum! Brands’ chief executive. Before becoming CEO, Sami served as KFC’s chief operating officer and managing director of KFC Asia.
Sami also previously led KFC operations across Thailand, India, Central Asia and Greater Asia, while earlier serving as managing director for KFC’s Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey markets. Before joining Yum! Brands in 2009, he held leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Reckitt Benckiser.
Sami holds an MBA from the University of Karachi. He currently serves as a director at Sami Advisory, a business consulting firm he founded in 2025, and is also on the board of Save the Children Canada.
Chipotle Chairman Scott Maw said Sami’s international restaurant and operational experience would support the company as it scales its operations and expands access to its brand globally. Sami said Chipotle has significant potential to take its brand to more customers around the world.
Following the appointment, Chipotle’s board has 11 directors, including 10 independent members. Sami has been appointed as an independent director and has not been assigned to any board committee at this stage.
The appointment comes as Chipotle continues its international expansion. The company had more than 4,200 restaurants as of June 30, 2026, across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Middle East, and recently opened its first restaurant in Asia in Seoul.
