Yum Brands had a clear vision for a global Total Rewards Center of Excellence. What it lacked across Asia and the Middle East was the infrastructure to make that vision a reality.
Across KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and corporate functions, reward programs had evolved independently. Salary structures differed by brand, benefits vendors were fragmented, and many markets had no dedicated Total Rewards resources at all. The challenge was not simply designing programs. It was determining how Total Rewards would be delivered across multiple countries, brands, and business structures while building regional capability from the ground up.
In this practitioner-led session, attendees will learn how Yum Brands established a scalable Total Rewards operating model across a diverse and rapidly growing region. The session will explore how the team assessed local market needs, defined roles and responsibilities, standardized core processes, and balanced global consistency with local flexibility.
Akhil Gandhi is a Total Rewards leader with over a decade of experience helping organisations navigate growth, transformation, and change across complex global business environments. He has led rewards and people initiatives within matrix organisations, partnering with leaders and teams across Asia, Middle East, Europe, and the Americas to design people strategies that balance global consistency with local market needs.
Drawing on experience spanning consulting, banking, logistics, quick service restaurants, technology, and shared services, Akhil brings a broad perspective on how organisations can leverage rewards, culture, technology, and transformation to enable business performance and enhance employee experience. He is passionate about simplifying complexity, building scalable people practices, and helping organisations create reward programmes that support both business outcomes and employee well-being.
With a unique blend of Human Resources and technology expertise, Akhil has led transformation initiatives that bring together people, processes, and digital solutions to drive organisational effectiveness in diverse cultural and business settings. He holds a postgraduate degree in Human Resources, People Transformation and is a Global Remuneration Professional (GRP®) certified by WorldatWork
