Martha Stewart is currently the Director at AppHarvest. Prior to their current position, they were the Controller for the KFC division at Yum! Brands from January 2003 to February 2021. In their previous role, they were responsible for leadership of the accurate accounting and reporting of the consolidated financial results of KFC's 15 global operating units, including the operation of effective processes and internal controls. Martha also maintained strong working relationships with the KFC division and market CFO's and finance teams to provide guidance and analysis on the financial implications of global and market level business initiatives and accounting requirements. In addition, they partnered with market CFO's and Controllers to ensure appropriate team structure and capability, providing insightful coaching to key market team members and division reporting team members to drive personal development and maximize potential. These responsibilities required collaboration with cross-functional teams around the world, including regular international travel (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic).
During their time at Yum! Brands, Martha achieved several key accomplishments, including minimizing the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns on global accounting and reporting processes, establishing a process to analyze the financial impact of Covid-19 store restrictions and closures, ensuring appropriate accounting for deals including the sale of hundreds of KFC's worldwide, partnering in the assessment of the financial impact of a major UK supply chain disruption, leading the assessment of aggregator agreements and establishing related accounting policies, and implementing accounting policies for revenue recognition, leases and franchise incentives.
Martha Stewart attended the University of Kentucky, where they earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting. Martha is also a certified public accountant, having received certification from the Kentucky State Board of Accountancy.