David Novak is Founder and CEO of David Novak Leadership, the parent organization to five nonprofits dedicated to developing leaders at every stage of life, from ages 5 to 65. David is also the host of the top-ranked business podcast, How Leaders Lead with David Novak.
A renowned expert on leadership and recognition culture, Novak is also a bestselling author. His highly respected and critically acclaimed books include The New York Times bestseller TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU: The Only Way to Make Big Things Happen, the forthcoming TAKE CHARGE OF YOU: How Self-Coaching Can Transform Your Life and Career (March 2022), THE EDUCATION OF AN ACCIDENTAL CEO: Lessons Learned from the Trailer Park to the Corner Office and his latest parable, O GREAT ONE! A Little Story About the Awesome Power of Recognition.
He is the Co-Founder, retired Chairman and CEO of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM), one of the world’s largest restaurant companies with restaurants in more than 135 countries and territories. Under his 17 year leadership, Yum! Brands doubled in size to over 45,000 restaurants and grew from a $4b to a $32 Billion market cap.
Novak has been recognized as “CEO of the Year” by Chief Executive magazine, 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. He received the prestigious 2015 Horatio Alger Award for his commitment to philanthropy and higher education and became a lifetime member of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. He is the recipient of the 2012 UN World Food Program Leadership Award for Yum! Brands World