Gavin Felder, who has served as the chief strategy officer of Yum Brands since 2019, has left the company. Felder has been with Yum for over 16 years, serving roles such as global chief financial officer at KFC, CFO at KFC Africa, and commercial director for KFC UK.
As chief strategy officer, Felder led the company’s long-term corporate strategies and partnered with Yum’s global brand divisions to accelerate initiatives through technology, innovation, and new growth channels. He also led investor relations and M&A for all of Yum’s brands.
Felder’s evolving role to chief strategy officer came at a fortuitous time for Yum. At the same time of his promotion, and just prior to the pandemic, the company also brought on Joe Park as its first ever vice president of innovation and the two were tasked with accelerating its digital infrastructure. Park has since been promoted to chief digital and technology officer.
During an interview in early 2021, Felder said, “What Covid has done is change our mindset … Now we don’t have the luxury of time. We don’t have to wait until we have sharpened the blade to perfection. Our strategy is the same, but our pace is faster.”
Yum’s digital sales has since increased to about 45% of the company’s total sales mix, generating about $50 billion.
In a statement, Yum Brands said, “We are grateful to Gavin Felder for his strong leadership and contributions that have elevated Yum and our brands’ corporate strategies, digital and technology journey and approach to innovation.”
With Felder's departure, Yum CFO Chris Turner is currently overseeing Yum’s strategy, innovation, and investor relations functions.
Prior to taking on the chief strategy officer role, Felder served as CFO of KFC Global from 2014-2019, leading the division through six consecutive years of same-store sales growth and double-digit operating profit growth. He also drove the refranchising of 900 restaurants across 12 countries and rolled out delivery and click and collect to over 12,000 restaurants. According to his LinkedIn account, prior to joining Yum, Felder worked as a group financial reporting manager for Dixons Carphone and an audit manager at Ernst & Young, both in London.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]