News

Yum! Brands' Novak receives 'Distinguished American' status

December 4, 2014

Yum! Brands CEO and Chairman David Novak has received membership into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans Inc. organization.

Novak joins 11 other business and civic leaders from across North America in receiving this membership in 2015. 

According to a news release, since its establishment in 1947, the Horatio Alger Award is annually bestowed upon leaders who have "succeeded, despite facing adversity, and who are committed to both philanthropy and higher education."

Novak got his professional start as a copywriter at an ad agency in Washington DC. He later joined Ketchum and eventually managed PepsiCo's Frito-Lay and Doritos accounts. Shortly thereafter he became CMO of PepsiCo's Pizza Hut division, and then EVP of Marketing and Sales for Pepsi-Cola.  

Novak then became COO of Pepsi-Cola, then CEO of KFC US. and later CEO of both KFC and Pizza Hut US. In 1997, PepsiCo spun off KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell and Novak became vice chairman and president of the new company – Yum! Brands.  He was promoted to CEO in 1999, and chairman in 2000.  He transitions to executive chairman on Jan. 1.

"Horatio Alger, Jr. wrote stories about hard work being the key to success, and no one embodies that more than David Novak," Horatio Alger Association CEO Tony Novelly said in the release. "Despite the transience of his early years, his ability to quickly adapt and seize opportunities allowed him to succeed in situations that might have defeated others.  His remarkable career, rooted in an unshakeable belief in himself, and his exceptional generosity make Mr. Novak a natural selection for the Horatio Alger Award and we proudly welcome him as a lifetime Member of the Association."