# David C. Novak

> David Charles Novak is an American executive, author and leadership educator. He co-founded the independent restaurant company that became Yum! Brands, succeeded its first CEO Andy Pearson in January 2000, and developed an employee-recognition approach associated with rubber-chicken awards and his Taking People With You program. After retiring from Yum! in 2016, he continued leadership education through books, How Leaders Lead and educational initiatives. He is also chairman of Versant Media Group’s board in 2026.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at David Novak Leadership; Chairman of the Board at Versant Media Group
- **Organizations:** David Novak Leadership, How Leaders Lead, Versant Media Group, Yum! Brands (co-founder; former chairman and CEO), Pepsi-Cola (former executive), Novak Leadership Institute, Lift a Life Novak Family Foundation
- **From:** Beeville, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Journalism; advertising focus, University of Missouri
- **Known for:** Co-founded the independent company that became Yum! Brands., Chief Executive CEO of the Year, 2012., Horatio Alger Award recipient, class of 2015.

## Career timeline

- **1974** — Graduated from the University of Missouri journalism school and began an advertising career.
- **1992** — Led the original Crystal Pepsi launch while a Pepsi marketing executive.
- **1996** — Became group president and CEO of KFC and Pizza Hut.
- **1997** — Became vice chairman and president of Tricon Global Restaurants following PepsiCo’s restaurant spinoff.
- **2000** — Succeeded Andy Pearson as CEO, effective January 1.
- **2001** — Became chairman; the 2026 Versant proxy records chairman tenure beginning in 2001.
- **2012** — Published Taking People With You and received Chief Executive’s CEO of the Year award.
- **2015** — Became executive chairman when Greg Creed succeeded him as CEO on January 1.
- **2016** — Retired from Yum! and continued recognition and leadership-development work.
- **2017** — David and Wendy Novak announced a $21.6 million commitment to establish the Novak Leadership Institute.
- **2024** — Published How Leaders Learn with Lari Bishop in June.
- **2026** — Became a Versant director in January and serves as board chairman.

## Achievements

- Co-founded the independent company that became Yum! Brands.
- Chief Executive CEO of the Year, 2012.
- Horatio Alger Award recipient, class of 2015.
- Author of the New York Times bestseller Taking People With You.
- With Wendy Novak, committed $21.6 million to establish the Novak Leadership Institute at the University of Missouri.
- Yum!’s May 2014 succession announcement reported market capitalization rising from $6 billion when he became CEO to $34 billion.

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Became a Versant Media Group director and serves as chairman of its board, according to its 2026 proxy.
- **2026-01** — Discussed his refrigerator index-card self-assessment on episode 272 of How Leaders Lead.
- **2026-04** — Discussed listening, franchisee involvement and Crystal Pepsi with Eric Kutcher on The McKinsey Podcast.
- **2026-09** — Published the LinkedIn article Clark Lea’s Leadership Playbook on September 8.

## Links

- Website: https://www.howleaderslead.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-novak-ogo
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/DavidNovakOGO
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HowLeadersLead
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidnovak/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidNovakLeadership
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@howleaderslead

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/david-c-novak
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21