LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), the world’s largest restaurant company, announced today Wake Forest University School of Business as winner of the TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU Case Study Challenge to fight global hunger. The competition is an extension of Yum! Brands’ World Hunger Relief global efforts and was conducted among student teams from five leading MBA programs across the country. The goal was to leverage the principles in Yum! Brands Chairman and CEO David Novak’s new book, TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU: The Only Way to Make BIG Things Happen, to provide solutions that address global hunger.
There are nearly 1 billion hungry people around the world today. Hunger and malnutrition are the number one risk to health worldwide - greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Yum! Brands is addressing the issue through its World Hunger Relief effort that raises awareness, funds and volunteerism to help the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and other hunger relief organizations.
Noel Tichy, renowned business expert and professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, led the case study challenge. MBA teams included the University of Michigan, Northwestern University, UCLA, Wake Forest University and the University of Southern California. Executives from Yum! Brands and its divisions, including KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Yum! Restaurants International, participated in the challenge to provide mentoring and support.
“We greatly appreciate the effort and creativity that each of the students applied to the challenge of solving global hunger,” said David Novak, Chairman and CEO, Yum! Brands, Inc. “We are proud to make a $250,000 donation on behalf of the winning team from Wake Forest University to the United Nations World Food Programme because of their breakthrough ideas. The remaining four teams receive a $10,000 donation made in their names to WFP as well.”
“We continue to be amazed by Yum! Brands’ commitment to its World Hunger Relief campaign and the fight against world hunger,” said Nancy Roman, Director of Communications, Private Partnerships and Public Policy, UN World Food Programme. “Engaging with the best and brightest MBA students to develop new ways to advance the partnership truly embodies Yum! Brands’ dedication to bringing people from hunger to hope. We are grateful for the generous donations on behalf of the universities and look forward to implementing activities all the participating schools developed.”
“All five teams did an amazing job of coming up with very creative and practical recommendations for Yum! Brands’ World Hunger Relief efforts,” said Noel Tichy, professor of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “In addition, the students got a learning experience with Yum! executives that is unequaled on any campus. A real win-win.”
TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU: The Only Way to Make BIG Things Happen was released in January 2012 and is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. The book contains secrets based on the unique leadership program Novak developed and has taught during his fifteen years at Yum! to thousands of managers and franchisees around the world. It offers a step-by-step guide to setting big goals, getting others on board and achieving break-through results. Specific tools are included at the end of each chapter that challenge readers to reflect on how they are doing on key aspects of leadership. All of Novak’s proceeds from TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU will be donated to WFP. Visit www.TakingPeopleWithYou.com for more information.
Yum! Brands’ World Hunger Relief initiative is the world’s largest private sector hunger relief effort, spanning more than 120 countries and over 37,000 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants. The campaign raises awareness, volunteerism and funds for WFP and other hunger relief agencies.
Yum! is currently donating over $80 million annually in cash and food to WFP and other hunger relief agencies. By adding the millions of volunteer hours and paid and free media to create awareness, Yum! contributes over $100 million in support of hunger relief each year.
Yum! is also addressing hunger across the U.S. through its Harvest program. Since its launch over two decades ago, Harvest has become the largest prepared-food donation program in the world. Through Harvest, Yum! has donated over 148 million pounds of food, with a value of nearly $650 million, to those at risk of hunger in the U.S. The Company also has been the primary sponsor of the Dare to Care Food Bank in Louisville for nine years, and has donated $10 million to this local agency.
Additional information on World Hunger Relief is available at the campaign’s website www.FromHungertoHope.com. Every U.S. dollar raised from World Hunger Relief goes directly towards WFP’s operations to fight hunger around the world. One U.S. dollar provides four meals for hungry children at school.
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants with more than 37,000 restaurants in more than 120 countries and territories. Yum! is ranked #214 on the Fortune 500 List and generated revenues of more than $12 billion in 2011. The Company's restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. Outside the United States, the Yum! Brands system opened approximately four new restaurants each day of the year, making it a leader in international retail development. The company has consistently been recognized for its reward and recognition culture, diversity leadership, community giving, and consistent shareholder returns.
WFP is the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit www.wfp.org.
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