Yum Brands declares Micky Pant as CEO, China division

Yum Brands Inc has appointed Micky Pant, 60, as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for its China division. Pant succeeds Sam Su, 63, who has announced his plans to retire as Chairman and CEO of the China division.

Su will serve as an Executive Advisor through February 2016 and also remain on the Yum Brands Inc Board of Directors to ensure a smooth and seamless transition. The company also announced that Joey Wat, 44, President of KFC China, and Peter Kao, 58, Senior Vice President and Brand General Manager of Pizza Hut China, have each been promoted to the position of Chief Executive Officer of KFC and Pizza Hut, respectively, reporting to Pant.

On the new development, Greg Creed, Chief Executive Officer, Yum Brands Inc, says, “Sam Su is a restaurant industry pioneer in China, having established KFC and Pizza Hut as global powerhouses in the world’s fastest growing economy. While we respect and support his decision to retire after a long and successful career with Yum, we are grateful he has built a strong leadership team to carry on and leverage the unprecedented growth opportunity that China presents. We thank Sam for his many significant contributions to Yum, and for ensuring a seamless transition of management to Micky Pant, who I am extraordinarily pleased will become Chief Executive Officer of Yum Restaurants China. Micky has been one of our most effective and visionary leaders at Yum for the past decade.”

Yum Brands, based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 41,000 restaurants in more than 125 countries and territories. The company’s restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories.