Joey Wat
屈翠容
PronunciationQū Cuìróng
Born
屈翠容

1971 (age 52–53)
Fujian, China
Alma materHong Kong University, Kellogg School of Management
OccupationCEO of Yum China
EmployerYum China

Joey Chui Yung Wat (Chinese: 屈翠容; pinyin: Qū Cuìróng; born c. 1971) is a businessperson. She is currently the CEO of Yum China, a China-based restaurant company. Wat is one of 37 female CEOs in the Fortune 500.[1] Originally from Fuzhou, China, she grew up in Hong Kong and earned a Bachelor's Degree from University of Hong Kong and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Wat started her career working for business management consultancies. Then, at UK-based A.S. Watson Group, she helped revive the then-struggling Savers and Superdrug retail chains. She returned to China to join KFC in 2014, where she modernized the business's marketing, order-taking, and store design. In 2018, she was appointed CEO of Yum China, two years after the business was spun-off from Yum! Brands.

Early life and education

Wat was born on June 26, 1971 in a poor neighborhood near Fuzhou, China.[2] Wat's parents couldn't afford to send their children to school, so initially Wat learned from her sister.[2] As a child, she worked at a factory that created plastic flower arrangements,[3] starting at age 9.[4] She worked as a waitress from ages 15-18.[3][5] Wat's family moved to Hong Kong circa 1980.[2] Wat worked nights to support her family, while going to school during the day.[6]

After high school, Wat attended the University of Hong Kong, where she studied development economics.[2] After graduating in 1994,[7][8] she returned to her hometown. She saw that the area had water and electricity thanks to businesspeople creating factories in the area.[2] Wat decided instead to go into business and started working at a business consultancy, AT Kearney.[2] Then, she moved to the United States to attend the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management,[9] where she earned a Master's in Business Administration.[2][10]

Career

Early career

Wat's first job after graduate school was with McKinsey & Company in 2000, where she supported retail businesses in Asia.[1][2] Wat worked for management consultancies for seven years.[11] When she was around 32, Wat moved to Britain and got a position with retail conglomerate A.S. Watson Group,[2] where she worked for 10 years.[11]

Wat started at A.S. Watson in 2004,[9] and was later promoted to head of strategy for Europe.[11] In 2007, she was appointed as managing director for Savers, a UK-based health and beauty chain owned by the group.[2][11] At the time, Savers was close to bankruptcy.[2] In part thanks to Wat's efforts, the chain rebounded, later growing to 400 stores and 3,000 staff.[11] Due to her work with Savers, Wat was promoted to managing director of A.S. Watson U.K. in 2012, making her also in charge of Savers' sister chain, Superdrug.[2][11] Superdrug was also struggling at the time,[12] due in part to competition from its larger rival, Boots.[2] Wat returned the business to profitability.[13]

Yum! Brands and Yum China

In 2014, Wat left A.S. Watson Group and moved back to China, where she started working for Yum! Brands.[10][11] Wat started as the President of KFC China in 2014.[12][14] She was promoted to CEO of KFC China in 2015.[12] KFC was Wat's first position in the food industry.[1] Wat studied KFC's business for six months prior to her appointment and submitted a report to the board on her strategy shortly after starting.[6]

Wat modernized KFC’s China business with digital marketing, delivery services, online payments,[6] digital food ordering,[15] and renovated stores. [6][12] Over time, profits improved.[12]

In 2016, Yum China was spun-off from Yum! Brands as an independent company and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.[12] Wat became the CEO of Yum China in 2018,[12][16] overseeing the China operations of KFC, Pizza Hut, and other restaurant brands,[12] with roughly 450,000 employees in China.[17] Wat focused on digital initiatives and modernization like she did for KFC.[4] By 2020 over 90% of customer payments were digital.[18] Wat also implemented an online loyalty program that exceeded 300 million participants by 2021.[14]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wat temporarily closed only one-third of Yum China's locations, most of which were re-opened a few weeks later.[14] She created a crisis management council, which managed COVID-related temporary store closures. [4] No employees were laid off during the pandemic.[14]

Wat is credited with Yum China's overall growth during her tenure as CEO.[13][14]

Personal life

Wat is married and has one child.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Teng, Tan Jou (October 5, 2020). "How did Joey Wat become leader of China's largest restaurant company?". South China Morning Post. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Shah, Oliver (January 19, 2014). "Street smart fighter puts smiles back at Superdrug". The Times & The Sunday Times. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Shapiro, Eben (December 6, 2020). "Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China, Shares Lessons On Controlling COVID". Time. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Lussier, Robert N.; Achua, Christopher F. (2015-01-01). Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development. Australia Brazil Singapore United Kingdom United States: Cengage Learning. pp. 397–400. ISBN 1-285-86635-5.
  5. ^ Gibbs, Alexandra (April 6, 2018). "Why the CEO of Yum China wants young professionals to keep on learning". CNBC. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "以同理心執掌餐飲王國 屈翠容：在百勝員工排第一". 經濟一週. March 11, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  7. ^ "俠女屈翠容Joey". 信報網站 hkej.com (in Chinese). November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  8. ^ "屈翠容小档案 _大公网". 大公网 (in Chinese). March 8, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Serwer, Max Zahn with Andy (May 15, 2021). "Cultural differences 'overrated' as obstacle to US-China relations: Yum China CEO". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Wei, He (April 13, 2018). "Catering to consumers' evolving preferences". Chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Gibbs, Alexandra (April 10, 2018). "Why Joey Wat decided to take on a challenging job opportunity". CNBC. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Flannery, Russell (February 6, 2019). "Meet The 'Force Of Nature' Propelling Yum China's Sales And Shares". Forbes. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "女CEO拼搏有嘉 带领百胜发展迅速". 星岛日报 (in Chinese). September 2, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d e Flannery, Russell (February 22, 2021). "What Would Colonel Sanders Say? Tea Eggs, Economic Rebound Help To Feed Growth At Yum China". Forbes. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  15. ^ Ma, Wayne (November 6, 2017). "Fast Food Gets a Reboot in China: Tuna-Pesto Panini, Paid for by Facial Recognition". WSJ. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  16. ^ Jiang, Irene; Thompson, Cadie. "Yum China CEO reveals why the company is tackling delivery in a completely different way from its rivals". Business Insider. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  17. ^ Gilchrist, Karen (April 13, 2018). "The lessons learned during my restaurant job were some of the most important of my career, says Yum China CEO". CNBC. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  18. ^ Ciment, Shoshy; Thompson, Cadie (January 23, 2020). "YUM China CEO says her over 450,000 employees are like a family that won't be replaced by automation". Business Insider. Retrieved October 31, 2023.

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