MIAMI (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Burger King Corporation (NYSE:BKC) today announced the appointment of Natalia Franco as executive vice president and global chief marketing officer, effective May 17, 2010. In this executive leadership position, Franco will be responsible for the company's global marketing function, overseeing product innovation, consumer insights and the development, implementation and communication of the BURGER KING(R) brand's marketing and advertising strategies worldwide. She will be based in the company's world headquarters in Miami, Fla. and will serve on the company's global executive team, reporting to John W. Chidsey, chairman and chief executive officer.
"Natalia is a seasoned marketing professional with a wealth of consumer marketing experience and we are fortunate to have her join our team," Chidsey said. "Her global perspective and diverse background working for a number of well-known and world-class companies positions her well to help strategically drive the BURGER KING(R) brand forward."
Franco most recently served as vice president, global marketing and innovation for The Coca-Cola Company where she was responsible for all cross-functional marketing efforts for the McDonald's Division, including R&D, consumer insights, marketing and operations innovation working with business units around the world. Prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company, Franco worked for General Mills, Inc. where she held a variety of U.S. domestic and international marketing positions of increasing responsibility. Earlier in her career, she gained extensive international marketing experience with Savoy Brands International in Bogotá, Colombia and with Unilever in Panama and Colombia.
"The BURGER KING(R) system is a highly dynamic and well-regarded brand and I am delighted to be joining this team," said Franco. "I am confident that my past professional experiences and my consumer-centric marketing approach will further enhance the brand's perception and awareness and help drive increased guest visits to our restaurants and profitable sales around the world."
Franco holds a C.S.S. graduate degree in business management with a concentration in marketing from Harvard University and a graduate degree in trading trends, merchandising and retailing from the Universidad de Valencia in Valencia, Spain. She also earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in Colombia.
The BURGER KING(R) system operates more than 12,100 restaurants in all 50 states and in 74 countries and U.S. territories worldwide. Approximately 90 percent of BURGER KING(R) restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family-owned operations that have been in business for decades. In 2008, Fortune magazine ranked Burger King Corp. (BKC) among America's 1,000 largest corporations and in 2010, Standard & Poor's included shares of Burger King Holdings, Inc. in the S&P MidCap 400 index. BKC was recently recognized by Interbrand on its top 100 "Best Global Brands" list and Ad Week has named it one of the top three industry-changing advertisers within the last three decades.
SOURCE: Burger King Corporation
Founded in 1954, the Burger King® brand is the second largest fast food hamburger chain in the world.