The Board plans to appoint a Non-Executive Chairman from among its Directors to succeed Novak and will announce that appointment at the Company's annual shareholder meeting. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Yum! in 1999 and has served as Chairman of Yum! Brands since 2000. He transitioned to Executive Chairman on January 1, 2015, when he was succeeded as CEO by Greg Creed.
“I feel deeply privileged to have served over the years as Yum! Brands Chairman and CEO,” said Novak.
He further says, “As we target the separation of our China business by the end of 2016 and transition to two powerful, independent companies, it is a perfect time for me to complete my retirement. The two new companies will be led by strong, highly capable leaders, Greg Creed at YUM and Micky Pant at YUM China. I am completely confident both of them will take their businesses to the next level and I look forward to cheering them on and supporting them after my retirement. I truly believe these two companies present enormous growth potential in the years to come. Therefore, I plan to remain a shareholder of both companies and couldn't be more enthusiastic about these investments.”
