Yum! Brands Promotes Joe Park to Chief Digital & Technology Officer

Yum! Brands is pleased to announce the appointment of Joe Park as the Chief Digital & Technology Officer, effective March 1, 2024. Park will be reporting to Chris Turner, the Chief Financial Officer of Yum! Brands, succeeding Clay Johnson, who will assume the role of Senior Advisor at the Company. In his new position, Park will join the Yum! Brands Global Leadership Team and will be responsible for managing the Company’s global technology strategy, collaborating closely with the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and the Habit Burger Grill divisions to ensure the delivery of a superior digital experience for customers, restaurant team members, and franchisees.

Chris Turner, Yum! Brands Chief Financial Officer, conveyed his confidence in Park, stating, “Joe is an energizing and visionary leader with a proven track record of rapidly deploying modern eCommerce and data platforms and scaling innovative technologies like Dragontail and HutBot across Pizza Hut’s global system. I’m confident that Joe will help Yum! continue to strengthen our technology ecosystem and scale our digital solutions at a rapid pace to deliver leading-edge capabilities to our franchisees with advantaged economics.”

The digital sales of Yum! Brands have experienced significant growth in recent years, reaching a milestone of $24 billion in digital sales, underlining the robustness of its digital ecosystem and the competencies of its brands in meeting the evolving needs of consumers worldwide. The Company’s digital sales are on a continued upward trajectory, and it aims to achieve a target of $30 billion in annual digital sales.

Joe Park’s association with Yum! Brands began in 2020 when he assumed the role of Chief Innovation Officer and later took on the position of Chief Digital and Technology Officer for Pizza Hut Global in 2021. In this capacity, Park oversaw omnichannel customer experiences, e-commerce, and restaurant technologies for more than 19,000 Pizza Hut restaurants in over 100 countries. Park has also held executive leadership positions at Walmart and GE, making significant contributions to the technology infrastructure and digital experiences of these companies.

Expressing his enthusiasm for his new role, Joe Park stated, “I’m incredibly excited to continue working with the talented and dedicated digital and technology team members around the world, and to partner with our world-class franchisees to execute the company’s global technology strategy.”

As Senior Advisor, Clay Johnson will continue to support the Company’s digital strategy and collaborate closely with the brand technology teams at Yum! Brands.

Yum! Brands has been the recipient of numerous accolades and recognitions, including being featured on the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America, Forbes’ list of America’s Best Employers for Diversity, TIME Magazine’s list of Best Companies for Future Leaders, and Newsweek’s lists recognizing America’s Most Responsible Companies, America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity, America’s Greenest Companies, and America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women.

In conclusion, with the elevation of Joe Park and the consistent engagement of Clay Johnson, Yum! Brands is well-positioned to sustain its growth and innovation in the digital and technology sphere.