James Fripp

James Fripp is the Chief Equity, Inclusion and Belongin Officer of Yum! Brands and reports to the Yum! Brands CEO. In this role, Fripp, working with executives across Yum! Brands, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger Grill, has global responsibility for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion strategies and practices across the company’s brands, workplaces and franchise system. Building on Yum! Brands’ years of progress on its diversity and inclusion journey, Fripp is focused on increasing diverse representation among company leadership, franchisees and suppliers and continuing the rollout of inclusive leadership and anti-racism training across the company and franchise system. Since 2011, Fripp has led diversity and inclusion efforts, where he elevated Yum! Brands’ public commitments and partnerships including the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion, The Consortium and We Are All Human’s The Hispanic Promise; activated the company’s Employee Resource Groups in Louisville, Plano and Irvine; Co-Chairs Yum!’s Leading Inclusion for Today & Tomorrow (LIFT2) Council; and trained thousands of brand and franchise leaders around the world on the topics of Inclusive Leadership and Unconscious Bias. Previously, Fripp was at Taco Bell in various leadership positions in operations, restaurant excellence, ending his career with the brand as head of Field Human Resources. Fripp is a member of the Clemson University Corporate CDO Advisory Board, Chair of the Corporate Advisory Board for the Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance. He is also a member of University of North Carolina Corporate Advisory Board on Diversity & Inclusion and a member of the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation Board. He holds a Degree in Business Management and is a certified Unconscious Bias facilitator.