Yum! Brands hires away Walmart’s CIO
Clay Johnson is leaving Walmart to oversee global technology strategy at Yum! Brands.
Johnson, 49, is joining the quick-service conglomerate in the newly-created role of chief digital and technology officer. During his tenure at Walmart, Johnson spearheaded the discount giant’s use of cloud computing. Johnson also built innovation hubs in Dallas and Austin, Texas, to focus on emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine vision, machine learning, blockchain, big data and the "Internet of things." He moved Walmart’s technology organization to a product model with an agile way of working. He was recently named CIO of the Year and one of the Most Influential CIOs in the industry.
However, a recent corporate restructuring had Johnson reporting to former Amazon and Google executive Suresh Kumar, who was appointed CTO in May 2019.
In his new position at Yum! Brands, Johnson will be responsible for digital activities across mobile, online, delivery and restaurant operations. He will lead a coordinated, cross-brand effort to accelerate the company’s digital commerce strategy and use of data and advanced analytics and emerging technologies for both customer- and employee-facing activities.
As the chair of the company’s global technology leadership team, Johnson will work closely with each global brand division technology chief, who reports to his or her respective executive leader. In addition, Yum! Brands’ global technology risk management and IT shared services teams will report to Johnson.
Yum! Brands’ global technology risk management and IT shared services teams will also report to Johnson.
In addition to serving as executive VP and enterprise CIO for Walmart, Johnson has also served as CIO of the GE Power business for GE, and in technology executive roles for companies including Boeing and Dell. His appointment is effective October 15, 2019.
Yum! Brands also promoted Gavin Felder, 40, to the new position of chief strategy officer.
Felder will be responsible for developing Yum! Brands’ long-term corporate strategies and partnering with the global brand divisions to implement initiatives to unlock new sources of growth and disruptive innovation. Felder will work closely with Johnson to integrate technology-centric solutions across store operations, including restaurant automation strategy. Felder has served as KFC division CFO for the last five years, overseeing strategy, digital and technology, financial planning, supply chain and IT security for the KFC business. His appointment is effective December 1, 2019.
“We believe Clay Johnson and Gavin Felder are the ideal executives to accelerate Yum! Brands’ growth through technology-centric strategies that advance the customer experience and ultimately deliver better economics and more value for our franchisees and shareholders,” said David Gibbs, Yum! Brands president and COO and the company’s incoming CEO.
Johnson and Felder will report to Yum! Brands chief financial officer Chris Turner.
“Technology is an enabler to unlock value for the business and the end customer,” said Johnson. “I’m thrilled to join Yum! Brands and look forward to collaborating with the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell teams on leveraging omnichannel strategies, advanced analytics and emerging technologies to benefit customers, employees and franchisees.”
Johnson, 49, is joining the quick-service conglomerate in the newly-created role of chief digital and technology officer. During his tenure at Walmart, Johnson spearheaded the discount giant’s use of cloud computing. Johnson also built innovation hubs in Dallas and Austin, Texas, to focus on emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine vision, machine learning, blockchain, big data and the "Internet of things." He moved Walmart’s technology organization to a product model with an agile way of working. He was recently named CIO of the Year and one of the Most Influential CIOs in the industry.
However, a recent corporate restructuring had Johnson reporting to former Amazon and Google executive Suresh Kumar, who was appointed CTO in May 2019.
In his new position at Yum! Brands, Johnson will be responsible for digital activities across mobile, online, delivery and restaurant operations. He will lead a coordinated, cross-brand effort to accelerate the company’s digital commerce strategy and use of data and advanced analytics and emerging technologies for both customer- and employee-facing activities.
As the chair of the company’s global technology leadership team, Johnson will work closely with each global brand division technology chief, who reports to his or her respective executive leader. In addition, Yum! Brands’ global technology risk management and IT shared services teams will report to Johnson.
Yum! Brands’ global technology risk management and IT shared services teams will also report to Johnson.
In addition to serving as executive VP and enterprise CIO for Walmart, Johnson has also served as CIO of the GE Power business for GE, and in technology executive roles for companies including Boeing and Dell. His appointment is effective October 15, 2019.
Yum! Brands also promoted Gavin Felder, 40, to the new position of chief strategy officer.
Felder will be responsible for developing Yum! Brands’ long-term corporate strategies and partnering with the global brand divisions to implement initiatives to unlock new sources of growth and disruptive innovation. Felder will work closely with Johnson to integrate technology-centric solutions across store operations, including restaurant automation strategy. Felder has served as KFC division CFO for the last five years, overseeing strategy, digital and technology, financial planning, supply chain and IT security for the KFC business. His appointment is effective December 1, 2019.
“We believe Clay Johnson and Gavin Felder are the ideal executives to accelerate Yum! Brands’ growth through technology-centric strategies that advance the customer experience and ultimately deliver better economics and more value for our franchisees and shareholders,” said David Gibbs, Yum! Brands president and COO and the company’s incoming CEO.
Johnson and Felder will report to Yum! Brands chief financial officer Chris Turner.
“Technology is an enabler to unlock value for the business and the end customer,” said Johnson. “I’m thrilled to join Yum! Brands and look forward to collaborating with the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell teams on leveraging omnichannel strategies, advanced analytics and emerging technologies to benefit customers, employees and franchisees.”