David Novak

[Steve]

We will be talking more about David Novak, CEO of Yum Brands but I wanted to start with a recent article on what he is planning on doing to help his companies find growth after a previously problem year.

He is looking to innovation to help the business turn around.

Yum Brands plans to copycat McDonald's (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22220992/) - After a year of disappointing results in its U.S. division, Yum Brands Inc. is looking to copy one of its biggest rivals, McDonalds, in the fast food industry in a bid to turn the troubled business around.

Novak said Yum will try to emulate that variety by adding new products at its own chains, including pasta dishes at Pizza Hut, shakes at KFC and frozen drinks at Taco Bell.

At KFC, for example, Yum plans to offer a line of grilled pressed sandwiches in the upcoming year and is also testing new slow-grilled chicken using special ovens it plans to install in restaurants in 2009.

[Steve]

A little background on the creation of Yum brands.

From Wikipedia

"Yum! is a Fortune 500 corporation, that operates or licenses A&W (excluding Canada), KFC, Long John Silver's, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell restaurants worldwide. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's largest quick-service (a.k.a. fast food) restaurant company in terms of system units—over 34,000 restaurants around the world in more than 100 countries and territories.[1] Yum!'s global system sales totaled more than USD 9 billion in 2002.

Yum! was created on October 7, 1997, as Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. an independent, publicly owned company, as a result of a spin-off from PepsiCo, who owned and franchised the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands worldwide. The chain continues to sell PepsiCo beverages and other products."