in purchasing, quality assurance and public relations
initiatives to help ensure a safe product.
The department works with the legislative and
public affairs office in Yum’s lobbying efforts.
CHANGING JOB
The company’s growing international dimension
is reflected in Campbell’s work. China, Taiwan and
Thailand represent Yum’s foremost markets for new
restaurant development, with KFC alone accounting
for one new store per day in the region. In 2002, the
chain opened China’s first drive-through restaurant.
Even excluding China, the company has opened more
than 700 new stores outside the United States during
When Campbell arrived in 1997, 50% of the res-
taurants were company-owned. Ownership within
the United States has since dropped to 20%, with
the rest of the restaurants franchised. Campbell
assumed his franchise policy role in 2001, and his
interaction with franchisees and each brand’s fran-
chise organization has increased tremendously since
then. He called this a “unique and fun part of his
job.” Sales by franchised stores now exceeds $20
billion.
spinoff of the restaurant division of PepsiCo Inc.—
the name was a nod to the “three icons” of its KFC,
Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains. Tricon changed its
name to Yum Brands five years ago. The title of chief
franchise policy officer was added to Campbell’s portfolio when the company acquired Long John Silver’s
and A&W.
ROUTE TO PRESENT POSITION
Campbell is a 1972 graduate of Northwestern University, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s
Change is great” is the mantra of a GC who calls
leaving his law firm job a personal milestone.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
“Change is great” is Campbell’s mantra. He considers leaving Sidley to explore the life of a general
counsel, and thus “get in on the business side,” to
be a watershed decision as well as a personal milestone. Joining Tricon when it was virtually a startup
company, and helping to turn it into a huge, publicly
traded firm, was another landmark. “We were architects of our own future,” he said.
each of the past eight years. Campbell is always on the
lookout for joint ventures and acquisitions, particularly
outside the United States, to expand the business.
Russia and India are additional areas of expansion.
Legal department attorneys are based in both
China and India. Campbell makes annual trips to
China and visited India earlier this year. Laws pertaining to food safety, franchising and, particularly,
trademarks are in constant flux in those areas, he
said. Campbell keeps full-time attorneys on staff to
track changes in legislation overseas.
degrees in economics. He graduated with a juris
doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1975. His
first law job was at Sidley Austin, where he practiced
through 1989, eventually becoming a partner in the
firm’s corporate litigation group. Campbell moved
in-house to Nalco Chemical Co., where he served
as vice president and general counsel from 1990
until 1995. For the next two years, he was senior
vice president and general counsel at Owens Corning. He then assumed most of his current duties at
what was then called Tricon Global Restaurants, a
PERSONAL
Chicago-born Campbell and his wife, Heather Gilchrist Campbell, have two daughters: Amelia and
Colleen. He has a pair of sons from a previous marriage: Chris and Brent. He spends his spare time
playing golf, jogging and fishing.
A BOOK AND MOVIE
Churchill, A Biography, by Roy Jenkins, and No
Country For Old Men.
—ROGER ADLER
An earlier version of this profile appeared in The
National Law Journal on June 23, 2008.
