For immediate release





Contact:
Alisa Harrison, 202-628-8000
Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770



aharrison@franchise.org


mhaller@franchise.org


twitter.com/franchising411


 

WASHINGTON, DEC. 15-Yum! Brands, Inc. Chairman and CEO David Novak will be a featured Keynote Speaker at the International Franchise Association’s 52nd Annual Convention Super Session on Feb. 13, 2012, in Orlando, Fla.
 
“David Novak is clearly one of the foremost leaders in the restaurant industry and the global business community today,” said IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira. “His insights on effective leadership will be of great value to the nearly 3,000 attendees at the IFA Convention.”
 
Yum! Brands is the world’s largest restaurant company, with more than 36,000 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in more than 117 countries and 1.4 million associates worldwide. Novak shapes the company’s overall strategic direction, with an emphasis on such key growth strategies as building leading brands across China in every significant category; driving aggressive international expansion and building strong brands everywhere; dramatically improving U.S. brand positions, consistency and returns; and driving industry-leading, long-term shareholder and franchisee value.
 
Novak will share why he devotes much of his time to personally train leadership skills to the company’s management and franchisees, and how his trademarked “Taking People With You” program cultivates leaders by teaching them how to get people aligned, enthusiastic and relentlessly focused on the mission to achieve big things. Novak is also the author of

TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU: The Only Way to Make Big Things Happen

(January 2012), a book inspired by his unique leadership program that he has taught over his fifteen years at Yum!.
 
A recipient of the national 2008 Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship, Novak has also been recognized as one of the world’s “30 Best CEOs” by Barron’s, one of the “Top People in Business” by FORTUNE and one of the “100 Best-Performing CEOs in the World” by Harvard Business Review.
 
Scheduled for Feb. 11-14 in Orlando, Fl., the 52nd IFA Annual Convention theme, “Come Build With Us,” highlights the franchise industry’s focus on how franchising builds local businesses, one opportunity at a time. The 52nd annual event will help attract upwards of 3,000 franchise community professionals seeking to build on their franchise expertise and professional networks through unrivalled educational content, professional development opportunities and the exhibit hall showcase.
 
Highlights of the 52nd annual event will be the 2012 Franchise Business Outlook report and the annual Financial, Technology, New Markets and International Summits, which provide best practices advice and educational content from franchise industry experts to attendees.
 
Recognizing the year-round community service initiatives of its members, IFA will hold an inaugural “Franchising Gives Back” event ahead of next year’s Convention. The event is designed to highlight the strong commitment and impact of franchising to build vibrant communities through both local economic activity and support for local organizations. The day-long event will bring a corps of convention attendees to a site in Orlando to perform community service for a local cause, followed by an evening celebration to recognize the community initiatives of members.
 
IFA will be offering news and updates about additional keynote speakers and educational and networking sessions on its Facebook page and on Twitter (@franchising411) using the hashtag #IFA2012.

For a complete schedule of events IFA 52nd Annual Convention,

click here

.