Yum! Brands Names Clay Johnson as Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Gavin Felder as Chief Strategy Officer, and David Gibbs as Chief Executive Officer
LOUISVILLE, KY - Yum! Brands is embracing an upgrade in not only how it operates in the world of technology, but also in its rank of officers. The company behind KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell not only nabs Walmart’s CIO, Clay Johnson, as its newest Chief Digital and Technology Officer, but also promoted Gavin Felder as the newest Chief Strategy Officer and elected current COO, David Gibbs, as the new Chief Executive Officer.
“We believe Clay Johnson and Gavin Felder are the ideal executives to accelerate Yum! Brands’ growth through technology-centric strategies that advance the customer experience and ultimately deliver better economics and more value for our franchisees and shareholders,” said Gibbs, set to take office effective January 1, 2020. “Clay’s insights into developing connected digital commerce capabilities and integrated enterprise solutions will be invaluable as we strengthen our business model with technology at the forefront. Gavin is a successful digital leader and proven growth strategist at KFC, our largest and most profitable global brand division. I look forward to Gavin, Clay, and their teams collaborating to ensure our technology efforts support and are aligned with the technological innovation happening in our restaurants.”
According to the press release, the newly created leadership positions will partner with the global brand divisions to elevate the customer experience and accelerate global growth. Johnson will join the Yum! Brands Global Leadership Team and oversee the company’s global technology strategy, partnering with the restaurant divisions to ensure the company provides a best-in-class digital journey across mobile, online, delivery, and restaurant operations. As the chair of the Global Technology Leadership Team, Johnson will work closely with each global brand division technology chief, bringing in over 20 years of technology leadership across FORTUNE 50 companies and industries, successfully driving digital transformation initiatives into all aspects of business. His appointment is effective October 15, 2019.
“Technology is an enabler to unlock value for the business and the end customer,” said Johnson. “I’m thrilled to join Yum! Brands and look forward to collaborating with the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell teams on leveraging omnichannel strategies, advanced analytics, and emerging technologies to benefit customers, employees, and franchisees.”
Felder will be responsible for developing Yum! Brands’ long-term corporate strategies and partnering with the global brand divisions to implement initiatives to unlock new sources of growth and disruptive innovation. He will work closely with Johnson to integrate technology-centric solutions across store operations, including the restaurant automation strategy, to elevate the customer and team member experience. Prior to being appointed, Felder has served as KFC Division CFO for the last five years, overseeing strategy, digital and technology, financial planning, supply chain, and IT security for the KFC business spanning over 23,000 restaurants across 135 countries. He will retain his current KFC Division CFO role, title, and responsibilities through the end of 2019 while the company conducts a search to identify a successor for the Division. His CSO appointment is effective December 1, 2019.
“Yum! Brands has a unique opportunity to leverage our global scale and build capabilities that transform both the customer and team member experience,” commented Felder. “There is so much growth ahead of us at Yum! and I couldn’t be more excited to partner with our brand teams and franchisees to find new, innovative ways to unlock this.”
Both Johnson and Felder will report to Yum! Brands Chief Financial Officer Chris Turner.
“Clay has the deep knowledge and skills needed to oversee a cross-brand effort to fast-track our digital commerce capabilities, unlock value from data and advanced analytics, and integrate cost-effective technology solutions to enhance restaurant operations and the customer experience. And Gavin’s outstanding strategic capabilities and global experience make him the perfect leader to help set our long-term strategies and drive collaboration across our brands to unlock innovation in our business model and operations,” said Turner. “This is an exciting time at Yum! because we have an incredible opportunity to leverage our massive scale and expand our digital and technology competencies in order to drive global same-store sales and net-new unit growth and improve franchise unit economics.”
As of now, there are no news on Yum! Brands COO search, but AndNowUKnow will keep you up-to-date on the latest flurry of developments.
