Kathy Gosser, PhD

Bio

Kathy is the Yum! Assistant Professor of Franchise Management and the Director of the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence in the College of Business at the University of Louisville. She retired from KFC (YUM! Brands) in August of 2019 after a 35-year career. She immediately started a new role teaching at the University of Louisville (College of Business), leveraging her experience in learning and franchising.

She co-created and now leads the Franchise Management certificate program, an online certificate program focused on the critical elements of franchising. This certificate is offered at graduate and undergraduate levels, and a non-credit Executive Education version is required of the International Franchise Association’s credential, the Certified Franchise Executive. Kathy also teaches undergraduate courses in the Management & Entrepreneurship Department.

At KFC/YUM, Kathy enjoyed numerous roles throughout her career, including the leadership of customer satisfaction programs, operations measurement, recognition programs, restaurant operations (P&L responsibility), training, and team member engagement efforts across KFC US restaurants. She spent over 20 years leading a franchise advisory council focused on operations excellence. Six of her years were spent leading operations efforts for YUM globally with other brands (Taco Bell and Pizza Hut). Her last role was KFC US’s director of Learning & Organizational Development, leading training for all 4200+ restaurants and the Restaurant Support Center. She was also the Board Chair of the KFC Foundation (funded by franchisees).