Don’t ask Tracy Skeans to make plans following her retirement later this year, after serving more than 25 years at Yum Brands.
At least, not yet.
“I didn’t have a plan for my career, and it unfolded far better than anything I could have come up with. I am going to do the same going forward and embrace what life brings me without working too hard to shape it,” Skeans said during an interview Tuesday. “As my time at Yum winds down, I’m excited to spend more time with my family, to linger a little longer, explore and let the world unfold for me. I’m excited to see what opportunities show up.”
Indeed, not having a plan has worked out pretty well for her so far. Skeans began her career on a completely different trajectory, as a senior auditor at Price Waterhouse, then corporate finance manager at Union Switch & Signal.
In 2000, she came across a finance analyst opportunity at a fledgling company called Tricon Global Restaurants, created in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its fast-food division. It was rebranded to Yum Brands in 2002.
Since that first day on the job at what would eventually become the world’s largest restaurant company by footprint, Skeans has worked her way up through various positions and opportunities, including, eventually, chief operating officer and chief people and culture officer.
“I’ve served four CEOs who have moved this company in so many different ways and I feel such gratitude,” she said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy every role and twist and turn. There was no plan for this career, but with each step, if the company needed something, I said ‘yes.’”
Those needs included moving from president of Pizza Hut International back to Yum corporate in 2016, where Skeans joined the C-suite alongside then-CEO Greg Creed, followed by David Gibbs, and current-CEO Chris Turner. She said some of her biggest challenges and rewards have come from having that unique executive perspective throughout the past 10 years.
To wit: in 2016, Yum spun off its China division, then transitioned into a pure-play franchisor in the years following.
“It was a huge moment for the company that changed the whole business model and the first major decision when I was sitting on the executive team,” she said. “That’s the moment I felt like we were changing the trajectory of Yum as a business. We needed to have that win and it took two to three years, but we did it.”
That’s not to say Yum was going to rest on any laurels, however. A short time later, in early 2020, the company added Habit Burger & Grill to the portfolio. Almost immediately afterwards, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Given its presence in 155-plus countries and territories, Yum Brands was disproportionately impacted by the global health crisis.
“Navigating the company through that was the most trying time in my career because of the way I feel about our people. I felt the weight of wanting our company to perform on behalf of all those people and we made it through and stronger. It was the hardest, but most meaningful, because we were providing something more than food — we were providing stability and hope to employees and consumers,” Skeans said.
Perhaps fortuitously, Yum also acquired a leadership program, called Heartstyles, in 2020, which enabled the company to bolster its training and development opportunities and sharpen the culture — one of Skeans’ directives. She believes her finance background coupled with her people and culture oversight have helped create a “unique and distinctive” leadership style that she hopes will be part of her legacy.
“Being grounded in how a business works, makes money, what are the results, whether same-store sales, development or profits — that is the language that keeps us growing,” Skeans said. “What I have been privileged to do is then use and build culture to unlock the true potential of the company. You may have a successful business model, but if you’re only focused on the business needs and not your people, you won’t have a culture that people enjoy working in or where they do their best work. We want leaders to lead culture to fuel results. That intersection is my favorite place to sit. Hopefully my legacy includes leading in a heartfelt way that leads to business results.”
Notably, she has also established a legacy beyond Yum. Being one of the highest-ranking women in the restaurant industry has motivated her to pay it forward and create more space for female employees, both within her own company and as an active member and past chair of the Women’s Foodservice Forum.
“I’ve never shied away from championing female leaders and supporting their needs. Women are a majority in certain rungs in this industry and the work to create more parity is some of the work I’ve been most proud of,” Skeans said. “I believe if more companies had more women in top seats, our industry would be even stronger than it is now. That’s something I hope to still have a hand in going forward.”
For now, however, there won’t be a set plan. Except maybe one.
“It feels like a good time to learn who Tracy Skeans is without Yum,” she said. “I hope I enjoy meeting her.”
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