O'Reilly joins fellow Yum! Restaurants chain KFC on December 1. He has been in his current role for three years, prior to which he was marketing director for the Caribbean and Latin America at Tricon Restaurants International, the former name for Yum! Restaurants.
During his time at Pizza Hut, O'Reilly has overseen product innovations such as the launch of the four-flavoured Quad pizza and the larger-sized Big New Yorker, designed for sharing, as well technological developments such as the company's 'oven-fresh' delivery system for takeaway pizzas.
He has also handled advertising campaigns through Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, the most recent promoting a film-related tie-up with UGC and Cine UK.
O'Reilly signed off Pizza Hut's 2004 marketing plan prior to his departure.
It is understood that the brand will continue its strategy of targeting families next year. The chain hopes to announce a successor to O'Reilly in the new year.
In the meantime, the marketing division will be overseen by Pizza Hut's chief executive, John Derkach, who has extensive marketing experience, having worked at PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble.
He will be assisted by the newly appointed director of retail marketing at Pizza Hut, Simon Wallis, who joins from KFC UK, where he was brand director (Marketing, November 6). Wallis is due to join the company at the start of December, coinciding with O'Reilly's departure.
Pizza Hut, which is jointly owned by Whitbread Restaurants and Yum! Restaurants, in the UK, is the pizza restaurant market leader and has more than 500 outlets, including 350 dine-in restaurants and 170 home delivery outlets.
It spent more than £10m on advertising in the year to June 2003, according to Nielsen Media Research.
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