Shanghai — Yum China Holdings, Inc.’s chief executive officer, Micky Pant, will transition to vice chairman and senior advisor. Joey Wat, who currently serves as president and chief operating officer, will succeed Pant as CEO of Yum China. The succession plan will take effect on March 1, 2018.
Pant has served as CEO and a member of the board of Yum China since its spin-off from Yum! Brands, Inc. and, prior to that, served as CEO of Yum! Restaurants China, a division of YUM.
“We are exceptionally grateful to Micky for leading the company through its spin-off and building a solid foundation as an independent company,” says Dr. Fred Hu, chairman of the board. “We thank Micky for his many significant contributions and are pleased that he will be vice chairman of the board and will also continue to serve the company as its senior advisor in order to ensure a seamless transition to Joey.”
“Joey is an extraordinarily talented executive and the ideal leader to become our next CEO,” says Dr. Hu. “Joey has a strong track record of achieving results, and with her unique ability to translate vision and strategy into future world-class operations, I have no doubt that the Yum China business will continue to grow under her strong leadership.”
Wat has served as the president and chief operating officer of Yum China since February 2017 and was appointed as a member of the Yum China board in July 2017. Wat joined Yum China in September 2014, first serving as president of KFC China and she was then promoted to CEO of KFC China in August 2015.
Yum China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum! Brands in mainland China. It has exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Yum China also owns the Little Sheep and East Dawning concepts outright. Yum China has more than 7,700 restaurants.
SOURCE: Yum China Holdings, Inc.