News

Yum Brands 'change-agent' board member steps down

February 22, 2017

Corvex Management LP Managing Partner Keith A. Meister stepped down late last week after a little more than a year with the company's governing board. Meister has significant interest in both Yum! Brands and Yum China.

"With the China spin‐off successfully executed, and Yum's capital structure, management team and transformation plans in place, the company is set up for great success," Meister said in a news release. "Yum! Brands has been and will continue to remain one of my firm's largest holdings, as we see iconic brands an improving business model and significant free cash flow growth with a high degree of visibility."

Yum! Brands completed its separation from independent Yum China, after first announcing plans to establish the spinoff last September. The company — which includes Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell brands — launched a plan last year to increase its franchise ownership and overall system efficiency as part of an initiative to boost brand focus and growth internationally. 

"Keith has been an invaluable member of the board as we have undergone a dramatic transformation," Yum! Brands Non-Executive Chairman Bob Walter said in a news release. "His fresh perspectives and his focus on shareholder value were instrumental in helping to develop the company's current structure and multi‐year growth plan. We look forward to delivering on these commitments as we continue to evolve as the food industry's leading, focused, global franchisor."

Yum! Brands' CEO and board member Greg Creed echoed those sentiments, saying in the company's news release that ultimately Yum! Brands formed a "collaborative partnership" with Meister that helped the brand separate from its China business and establish "a roadmap for becoming a one-of-a-kind global franchisor with a uniquely powerful and predictable free cash flow growth profile."

The Louisville-based company now has more than 43,500 restaurants in 135 nations globally.