Opinion | 3 Big Questions for the New Yum China Spin-Off (KFC, Pizza Hut)
Jeffrey Towson asks the big questions in the wake of the decision to spin off one of the biggest food franchise success stories in China
So Yum China is being spun-off. A reasonable move that should give them increased focus. But what happens after the spin-off is much more important. And I have three questions about that.
#1 - Who is the new Sam Su?
Yum’s success in China was not because of its franchise. There are hundreds of franchises. It was overwhelmingly because they got to China early and had great management.
That great management was former China CEO Sam Su (and his team). He is a native of Taiwan and was a veteran of Proctor & Gamble Taiwan. He also came to KFC China early in his career and committed for the long-term. That is what you are looking for in the head of Yum China.
I believe Sam is now 62 years old. And I believe his replacement Micky Pant is 60 years old. Explain to me the logic of replacing a retiring 62 year old CEO with a 60 year old? And a 60 year old with no China experience that I can see. So no offense to Micky Pant (who I’m sure is a nice guy) but I’m assuming he’s a caretaker or transitional CEO.
So my question is who the new Sam Su? Who is the China expert who will revitalize and grow this company for the next 10 years?
#2 - What happened to Sam’s successor?
