SHANGHAI, Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Yum China
Holdings, Inc. (the "Company" or "Yum China") (NYSE: YUMC) today
announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Micky Pant, will transition to the roles of Vice
Chairman of the Board and Senior Advisor to the Company.
Joey Wat, who currently serves as
President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company, will succeed
Mr. Pant as Chief Executive Officer of Yum China. The
succession plan will take effect on March 1,
2018.
Mr. Pant has served as CEO and a member of the Board of
Directors of Yum China since its spin-off from Yum! Brands, Inc.
("YUM") 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," said 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," said 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. Leveraging the unprecedented growth
opportunity that China presents,
the Board and the Yum China team are confident that she is the best
person to take the Company to its next level," said Mr. Pant.
Ms. Wat has served as the President and Chief Operating
Officer of Yum China since February
2017 and she was appointed as a member of the Yum China
Board in July 2017. Ms. Wat joined Yum China in September 2014, first serving as President of KFC
China and she was then promoted to Chief Executive Officer of KFC
China in August 2015. Prior to that, Ms. Wat served in both
management and strategy positions at AS Watson of Hutchison Group
("Watson") in the U.K. from 2004 to 2014, including as Managing
Director of Watson U.K., which operates Superdrug and Savers.
Before joining Watson, Ms. Wat spent seven years in management
consulting, including with McKinsey & Company's Hong Kong office from 2000 to 2003.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the fact
that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and
by the use of forward-looking words such as "expect,"
"expectation," "believe," "anticipate," "may," "could," "intend,"
"belief," "plan," "estimate," "target," "predict," "likely,"
"will," "should," "forecast," "outlook" or similar terminology.
These statements are based on current estimates and assumptions
made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical
trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as
well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and
reasonable under the circumstances, but there can be no assurance
that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and
are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties
that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results to
differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We
cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or
assumptions will be achieved. The forward-looking statements
included in this press release are only made as of the date of this
press release, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update
any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances, except as required by law. All forward-looking
statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their
inherent uncertainty. You should consult our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set
forth under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking
Statements" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K) for
additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and
other results.
About Yum China Holdings, Inc.
Yum China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum! Brands in
mainland China. It has exclusive
rights in mainland China to KFC,
China's leading quick-service
restaurant brand, Pizza Hut, the leading casual dining restaurant
brand in China, and Taco Bell,
which opened its first restaurant in China at the end of 2016. Yum China also owns
the Little Sheep and East Dawning concepts outright. Yum China is
well positioned for growth thanks to its strong competitive
position, integration of its brands into Chinese popular culture
and consumers' daily lives, expanding geographic footprint in
China and existing operational
expertise. It has a strong capital position, no external debt and
expects to continue growing its system sales and profit by adding
new restaurants and through growing same-store sales. Yum China had
more than 7,700 restaurants and more than 420,000 employees in over
1,100 cities at the end of August
2017. A new generation of younger consumers who are
digitally sophisticated and brand driven are fueling growth in
consumption in China. The ongoing
growth of the middle class and urban population in China is expected to create the world's
largest market for restaurant brands, with Yum China poised to be
the market leader.
Investor Relations Contacts
Yum China Holdings, Inc.
Christie Ju, +86 21 2407
8090
VP Finance, Investor Relations
Elaine Lai, +86 21 2407
8278
Director, Investor Relations
Media Contacts
Forest Liu, +86 21 2407
7505
Director, Public Affairs
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SOURCE Yum China Holdings, Inc