The brains behind the beverage? UofL alumna, Kara DeLost ’11.

After graduating from the����with a degree in marketing, DeLost��accepted her first job as a marketing coordinator for a digital advertising agency where she developed her passion for the industry.

“I fell in love with the advertising world,” said DeLost, who worked with brands like Sun Tan City and AutoZone. “I love working with clients, working on different brands, and working on campaigns that were innovative.”

But DeLost knew she needed a change after seven years between two agencies, citing a high burnout rate in an industry that “will chew you up and spit you out.” After taking a step back and evaluating what she wanted to do, DeLost said goodbye to the agency world and hello to corporate America. In what she considered a leap of faith, DeLost joined KFC as the associate brand manager for beverage innovation.

Soon after arriving at the company, she was challenged with the task of launching KFC’s first signature beverage. What might seem daunting to some was exciting to DeLost, who longed for “that feeling of working on something and the world sees it and knows it…to be a part of a brand that people know, love, and is part of pop culture.”

Fast forward 18 months, and the Mtn Dew Sweet Lightning beverage is not only a permanent offering on the KFC menu, it is only available at the Louisville-based chain. DeLost, who has also worked on the brand’s Cheetos Sandwich and Mac and Cheese Bowls, said the beverage is doing well, doubling expectations within its first year.��

“To go into a KFC and see it, and see people drinking it, it feels so good. It’s a very proud moment to say I launched a national product,” she said.��

As a member of Yum! Brands’ Employee Resource Group, DeLost has also taken pride in leading conversations within a Fortune 500 company about the importance of diversity, inclusion and equity. She said the transition from an agency to a corporation was an adjustment, but credits KFC for their support of employees having a work-life balance.

“(Parent company) Yum! Brands and KFC have given me a home to be my authentic self and embrace it,” said DeLost, whose typical workday includes working with cross-functional teams, evaluating consumer insight, developing products, and the best part – eating fried chicken.��“I’ve been able to dive deep into the KFC brand and I love it. I’m so passionate about the work we’re doing, and I’m excited to see how our brand grows moving forward.”

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Knowing of her job search, a family friend and fellow Central High graduate connected Fields with another Central High alumna: Jennifer Green, director, corporate counsel of Yum! Brands. Fields and Green met for lunch and Green encouraged Fields to submit her resume for a legal internship.

Louisville Law has a��‘s Law and Government Magnet Program, of which Fields is a graduate.

“It was pretty cool to have somebody that cares like that. She turned into a great mentor for me,” says Fields of Green.

At Yum!, Fields reviewed and edited contracts and conducted legal research on IP holding companies. At KFC, which is part of Yum!, she was involved with marketing efforts and franchisee compliance.

“It was a good experience,” says Fields, who is interested in a career in corporate law. “To be able to do that kind of legal work as a 1L was great for me. I was in a place that was amazing and large, but they still gave me the amount of time that I needed and the attention that I needed to teach me things and help me learn things that I can use in the future.”

Fields continues to have a mentor in Green even though the internship has ended. Green has helped review her resume and has provided job-searching advice, Because of this experience, Fields is a strong advocate of networking and finding mentors.

“It’s important to network and out yourself out there,” she says. “You could be missing out on opportunities by not speaking to somebody or by not knowing somebody. That’s how I’ve gotten in to many doors — who I know. After who I know, it’s what I know and what I can do.”

Much of those sales were ignited by the company’s unusual marketing gimmicks, such as a fire log that smells like fried chicken, and product offerings, like its new Cheetos sandwich. These types of campaigns are no doubt playful, but they require a degree of legal scrutiny before they’re actually pushed to market.

Fortunately, KFC has a team of lawyers willing to do such work. And three out of four of those lawyers just happen to be UofL alums.

The team is led by Chief Legal Officer Melanie Bootes, a graduate of the Brandeis School of Law. Prior to law school, Bootes earned her bachelor’s degree from Clemson University. She started her legal career at Louisville firm Bingham Greenebaum Doll in 1999 before joining KFC in 2003. She was named CLO in 2015.

Bootes and her team were featured in .��The article examined the work these in-house attorneys are tasked with doing to green light the chain’s distinct marketing promotions, such as creating a label for the KFC fried chicken-scented sunscreen that met federal regulations accurately describing the product’s effectiveness.

The legal team’s work extends beyond fun marketing stunts, however. Bootes expressed pride in the team’s work behind the company’s franchise and development strategies, for example.

In the story, she noted that the team has alchemy, “that magic of having somebody that’s as smart as a whip, who fits into the culture … We were fortunate that we’ve got an incredible team of great lawyers and it’s a team of people who really enjoy each other and work well together.”

Bootes is joined by Sarah Osborn Hill, who also earned her JD at the Brandeis School of Law. Prior to law school, Hill earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the JB Speed School of Engineering. Hill spent the early part of her legal career with Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs LLP before joining the KFC team in 2014.

The team’s youngest member is Kate Ward, who earned her bachelor’s of science degree from UofL and joined KFC in 2016 after a 5-year stint at Bingham Greenebaum and Doll.

A fourth member of the team, Dawn Croft, is a UK law grad, which perhaps makes water cooler conversations at KFC’s Louisville headquarters interesting come basketball season.

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