Yum! Brands, Inc. (Yum!) has over 55,000 restaurants in 156 countries and territories. In 2022, Yum! opened 4,560 gross new units (the equivalent of one new restaurant every two hours), which led to it posting $59bn+ in worldwide system sales. This included $24bn digital system sales and overall system sales growth of 6%.

Three of Yum!’s brands– Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell – are the global leaders of the pizza, chicken and Mexican-style food categories and it also owns innovative burger brand Habit Burger. Yum! is committed to continuing to partner with employees, franchise owners and suppliers, together serving up more goodness to customers, shareholders, communities and the planet. Yum! has long since achieved its goal of becoming at least 98% franchised with an “Own to Learn” mindset in its 2% equity restaurants. That, along with a focus on growth drivers and increased collaboration, is fuelling exceptional results.

Yum! Brands’ global technology strategy spans all its brands and is focused on providing a best-in-class digital journey across mobile, online, delivery and restaurant operations. The company continues to accelerate its digital commerce strategy through data and advanced analytics, and innovative emerging technologies to elevate the customer and employee experience, strengthen restaurant unit economics and unlock new sources of global growth.

Pizza Hut

Welcome to the flavourful world of Pizza Hut, where its handcrafted pizzas are made with passion! Pizza Hut is on a mission to become the most loved global brand and the number 1 choice in Pizza in every country it serves. Over the next five years, it’s got big plans for explosive growth in this competitive and ever-expanding market.

Following a recent reorganisation, for the first time ever Pizza Hut is now one, truly global, brand (as opposed to two separate businesses - the US and International, including GFM). Its unified global strategy is “Connecting people through the joy of Pizza” and its goal is to become the number one choice for pizza. Its key strategic pillars are to:

Become younger and more every day (which will drive transactions) Deliver a great customer experience through multi-channel product availability and a great digital user experience Become digital-first in everything it does Ignite the Development (i.e. new-store) engine across multiple asset types Deliver Yum!’s Recipe for Good, positively impacting the planet, people and customers

The benefits of this are that Pizza Hut now has an aligned strategy, can harness the benefits of scale (leveraging global technology, accessing more global resources and more product innovation) and greater internal partnership and knowhow-building.

Let’s Unbox the Role:

Against the backdrop of Pizza Hut’s global transformation, a hugely exciting opportunity has arisen for a talented and ambitious business leader with significant future potential to join Pizza Hut GFM Europe, as General Manager (“GM”). The GM will report to the President, GFM & Global Operations for Pizza Hut, Shannon Garcia.

This person will be a member of the GFM Leadership Team, responsible for Pizza Hut GFM Europe business and will collaborate with cross-functional teams to achieve business goals, be bold, take risks and galvanise the brand. You will be responsible for leading a geographically dispersed team and work closely with our global colleagues, based in Dallas, as well as other GFM functional leaders, their teams, and our franchise partners to expedite the future growth of our business. 

Our ambition is to continue to grow Pizza Hut’s market expansion across Europe. The GM will imagine the Pizza Hut business of the future, which will require refining and establishing initiatives across multiple assets, developing an attractive business model for potential franchise Investors, service proposition and value proposition. Equally important will be the need to develop the team and drive Pizza Hut’s unique culture, whilst acting as a brand ambassador and a key influencer within Pizza Hut’s global Marketing community, leveraging and embracing technology every step of the way.

You will have worked in an organization where it was imperative to manage tight margins and will as a result, be highly commercially astute and intellectually curious. Also essential will be the ability to work and thrive in a region-wide matrix structure, and therefore a demonstrable track record of high achievement through high levels of emotional intelligence, collaboration and influencing is essential. 

The success of this role is hugely dependent on the ability to build deep relationships, engage and influence, to impact an array of franchise owners, who are from different cultures and organizations with differing maturities and scale.          

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

Develop and execute a comprehensive strategic plan to drive market growth and achieve business objectives (Net New Unit growth, Profit Growth, Same Store Sales Growth) Provide visionary leadership to the management team, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence A demonstrably street- and business-smart, creative and disruptive out-of-the-box strategic thinker who can develop a future-back vision The ability to balance a long-term strategic vision with the ability to move and react with agility A strong grasp of key business and industry drivers and a track record of capitalising on identified consumer trends and insights to develop creative / breakthrough growth strategies

Brand Management

Create and execute a customer-led, commercially robust and heavily digital-focused marketing strategy for Pizza Hut GFM Europe Devise a plan which will shift Pizza Hut into a modern digital-first, high-growth, multi-format business with an excellent user experience that is relevant to a younger audience Collaborate with marketing teams to develop and execute effective marketing and promotional campaigns

Market Growth 

Identify and capitalize on opportunities to expand Pizza Hut's market share across Europe Formulate and implement initiatives to increase customer engagement, loyalty, and overall brand awareness Stay abreast of market trends, consumer preferences, and the competitive landscape to strategically inform key business decisions

Operational Excellence

Oversee all aspects of business operations, ensuring efficiency, consistency, and compliance with company standards Deliver consistency of execution across all restaurants Collaborate with functional heads to optimize processes, reduce costs, and enhance overall operational performance

Financial Management

Ability to build and execute against an attractive business model to enhance Yum! and franchisee profitability Develop and manage the annual budget, ensuring financial targets are met or exceeded

Leading Teams

Recruit, mentor, and develop a high-performing management team Foster a positive and inclusive work environment that promotes teamwork, accountability, and professional growth A champion of diversity, equality, inclusion and belonging The ability to provide clear direction and business solutions to maximise individual and team performance The capacity to engage and inspire others and create a climate where people want to thrive and perform to their very best

Stakeholder Relations

Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including cross-market partners, PH Global and Yum!, suppliers, and industry partners Experience of working and ability to work autonomously, yet by also being a team player and doing this in a collaborative way by influencing and building relationships with all levels of the organisation Strong cultural sensitivity and a track record of building relationships Able to champion ideas, influence and motivate key stakeholders by infecting them with a shared sense of purpose and passion

Requirements

A senior, strategic leader with a clear track record of success, substantial experience in a consumer-facing environment and will have had experience building relationships and influencing across functional lines at all levels The individual must deal well with complexity and ambiguity, and have the ability to influence, guide and motivate without direct control. As not everything is fully defined, it will be necessary to get down into the detail, and the successful candidate will embrace that, as well as being a world-class executor and business leader Proven track record of driving revenue growth, improving operational efficiency, and managing P&L  Strong leadership and communication skills with the ability to inspire and motivate teams Excellent problem-solving abilities and strategic thinking Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to build a team environment to achieve revenue, profit and growth targets High work ethic Candidates with international mobility required