LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) today announced the promotion of Vipul
Chawla, 50, to President of Pizza Hut International, reporting to Yum!
Brands Chief Executive Officer Greg Creed, effective December 3, 2018.
Chawla, who currently serves as Managing Director of Pizza Hut
Asia-Pacific, will assume responsibility for driving the brand strategy
and performance of Pizza Hut’s international business outside the U.S.
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Yum! Brands today announced the promotion of Vipul Chawla, 50, to President of Pizza Hut International, reporting to Yum! Brands Chief Executive Officer Greg Creed, effective December 3, 2018. Chawla, who currently serves as Managing Director of Pizza Hut Asia-Pacific, will assume responsibility for driving the brand strategy and performance of Pizza Hut’s international business outside the U.S. (Photo: Business Wire)
Pizza Hut is the world’s largest pizza restaurant company with more than
$12 billion in global system sales and nearly 17,000 restaurants in over
100 countries and territories as of year-end 2017. General managers of
Pizza Hut around the world (excluding the U.S.) as well as leaders of
Pizza Hut International’s global functions will report to Chawla
effective December 3. Pizza Hut U.S. is led by Artie Starrs, President,
reporting to Creed.
“Vipul Chawla is an extraordinarily talented leader and highly respected
global marketer with a proven track record of growing Pizza Hut across
the Asia-Pacific region with our franchise partners,” said Creed. “He’s
the ideal person to take Pizza Hut International to the next level by
ensuring that each market has strong operations and digital execution in
place, offers compelling value and consistently communicates the brand
positioning. I’m confident Vipul and his team are well positioned for a
seamless transition and will continue to build on the strengths of Pizza
Hut with our franchisees.” Chawla will succeed Milind Pant, who has
served as Pizza Hut International President for the past three years and
has made the personal decision to step down from his role at the end of
November to pursue other opportunities outside the Company.
Chawla is an international restaurant and retail industry veteran who
has been with the Company for more than seven years. As Managing
Director of Pizza Hut Asia-Pacific, Chawla has led Pizza Hut’s largest
business outside the U.S. in terms of units, spanning nearly 5,000
franchise restaurants across 16 markets. He previously served as General
Manager of Pizza Hut Asia as well as Chief Marketing Officer of KFC Asia
where he elevated KFC’s brand positioning and accelerated its growth
across the region. Chawla joined Yum! in 2011 after spending 20 years
with Unilever serving in various leadership positions.
Creed added, “I want to thank Milind Pant for his strong leadership,
passion and contributions to Pizza Hut and Yum! Brands over the past
decade and wish him continued success on his future endeavors. As we
look ahead, I’m confident Pizza Hut International has a bright future as
the Brand continues to focus its innovation, technology investments and
franchise partnerships on delivering the easiest, fastest and tastiest
pizza experience to its customers globally.”
About Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), has more
restaurant locations in the world than any other pizza company. Founded
in 1958 in Wichita, Kan., Pizza Hut operates nearly 17,000 restaurants
in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.pizzahut.com.
About Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 45,000
restaurants in more than 140 countries and territories and is one of the
Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders in North America. In 2018, Yum!
Brands was recognized as part of the inaugural Bloomberg Gender-Equality
Index, named to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index and
ranked among the top 100 Best Corporate Citizens by Corporate
Responsibility Magazine. The company’s restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza
Hut and Taco Bell – are global leaders of the chicken, pizza and
Mexican-style food categories. Worldwide, the Yum! Brands system opens
over seven new restaurants per day on average, making it a leader in
global retail development.
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Yum! Brands, Inc.
Analysts are invited to contact:
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Siegner, 888-298-6986
Vice President, Investor Relations, Corporate
Strategy and Treasurer
or
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Director,
Investor Relations
or
Members of the media are invited to
contact:
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Director, Public
Relations
Source: Yum! Brands, Inc.