Taco Bell CEO to speak at UCI business school graduation

The CEO of Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp. will give the commencement address at UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business graduation ceremony in June.

Greg Creed will share his expertise and give advice to the business school’s graduating class, made up of 568 students, according to a news release.

“Graduation is something to be proud of and I am honored to speak to the graduates of the Merage School, who have already shown great determination,” he said in the release.

As CEO of Taco Bell Corp., Creed is responsible for driving brand strategies and the performance of the global business, the release said.

He joined Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum! Brands, in 2001 as chief marketing officer and spearheaded the well-known “Think Outside the Bun” campaign. He was promoted to chief operating officer in 2005 and returned to Taco Bell Corp. a year later.

“[Creed] has been at Taco Bell’s helm for most of the past decade, and we are honored that he gives so generously of his time and talent to the school on advisory boards, hosting corporate partner events, and instilling his infectious attitude of enjoying what he does every day,” said Rajeev Tyagi, interim dean at the business school.

— Hannah Fry

@HannahFryTCN