David Novak was appointed CEO, executive chairman and president of Yum! Brands and Yum! Restaurants International, in 2001. Other executive roles he has held within the company include: Group President and CEO of KFC Corporation and Pizza Hut; Vice Chairman and President of Tricon Global Restaurants Inc.; President and CEO of KFC North America; COO of Pepsi-Cola North America; Executive Vice President of Marketing and National Sales for Pepsi-Cola Company; Senior Vice President of Marketing of Pizza Hut. It has been suggested that Novak is “the man most directly responsible for populating the world with fast food restaurants.”