Fernando Claussen

Fernando Claussen is the Vice President & General Manager of Taco Bell Ibero-America (Latin America, Spain and the Caribbean). Taco Bell is a subsidiary of YUM! Brands, Inc.'s (NYSE: YUM). As the nation's leading Mexican-style quick service restaurant chain, Taco Bell Corp. serves 42 million customers each week in nearly 7,000 restaurants globally. Originally from Mexico, Fernando has more than twenty-five years of business experience, including the last thirteen years in Yum! Brands.

Fernando holds a Bachelor degree in Marketing, graduated with honors from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), and an Executive MBA alternate program (PLD) from Harvard Business School in Boston, MA.

He joined YUM! Brands in 2007, holding the position of Sr. Marketing Manager and soon later the role of Marketing Director for KFC, Latin America & Caribbean based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In 2013, Fernando was appointed as Latin America, General Manager at Taco Bell Corp, moving his family home close to Taco Bell headquarters in sunny Orange County, California. In 2015 thanks to his teamwork ethic and leadership, Fernando was promoted to Sr. Director, managing the Taco Bell business in Latin America. Shortly after, Fernando was promoted to a bigger role as VP & GM of the larger region for TB international: Taco Bell Ibero-America. Prior to YUM! Brands, Fernando worked for 13 years in Sigma Alimentos Corp, one of the largest food companies in Mexico. During his tenure with this company, Fernando held different positions, starting his career in Consumer Insights. He continued his growth as Brand Manager, and later on as Marketing and Innovation Manager for the New Business Development, before joining YUM! Brands, where he expanded his knowledge of International and franchising business.

Fernando is married to Patricia and has 2 children, Andrea and Fernando Jr. He comes from a large family, being the youngest of eight brothers and sisters. Fernando is constantly traveling abroad, when at home, he loves to spend quality time with his family. He also enjoys coaching business strategies and developing his diverse capable team, all while learning from the cultural diversity and culinary richness of the international world.