From Savers to KFC China, millionaire Yum China CEO Joey Wat is an expert in saving struggling chains – no wonder she’s one of the only female CEOs listed on Fortune 500
She was managing director for Watsons UK and kicked off her career at McKinsey & Company – here are a few things you might not know about Joey Wat, CEO of China’s largest restaurant company Yum China
Leading Yum China, China’s largest restaurant company with over 10,000 restaurants, Joey Wat is known as one of only 37 female CEOs listed on the Fortune 500 with an estimated net worth of US$15.2 million.
Wat did not come from an affluent family. They moved from Fuzhou to Hong Kong when Wat was young, where she soared in her academics and attended the prestigious University of Hong Kong. Later, she furthered her studies in Northwestern University in the US before joining McKinsey & Company in 2000.
In 2004, Wat joined A.S. Watson Group in the UK, handling managing and strategic matters. Over the next decade, she rescued struggling health and beauty retail chain Savers and eventually became managing director of Watson UK, which handled both Savers and retail chain Superdrug. She later joined the F&B industry in 2014 as the CEO of KFC China before shifting among several roles at parent company Yum China, finally taking over as CEO in 2018.
With Wat at the helm, KFC China’s online sales and delivery business dramatically increased; deliveries accounted for 17 per cent of the chain’s total sales in the third quarter of 2018.
