Joey Wat

While other foreign brands have struggled to stay relevant in China, Yum China CEO Joey Wat has found a formula that keeps working: Make sure your product actually fits what Chinese consumers want. Yum China posted $11.8 billion in revenue last year, a 4% jump, while net income grew 2% to $929 million. Wat has made product innovation central to the company’s identity, building meals and restaurant concepts that better suit the tastes and price preferences of China’s consumers, such as a version of Pizza Hut that offers smaller, more affordable slices. Yum China opened 1,700 net new stores in 2025, surpassing 18,000 locations across 2,500 cities—and the company hopes to have more than 30,000 stores by 2030.