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PLANO, Texas, August 19, 2020 – Pizza Hut is proud to announce the appointment of Chequan Lewis as its first Chief Equity Officer – a critical first step in delivering on the company’s commitment to advance equity and create meaningful change. In his new role, Lewis will join the Pizza Hut U.S. Leadership team to help shape Pizza Hut as a resilient business for the 21st century – putting in place structures, processes and decision-making that create a more equitable workplace and company for our employees, franchisees, licensees, restaurant teams, customers, and communities we serve.
“I am excited to lead this critical work during this moment in our brand’s and nation’s history,” said Lewis. Pizza Hut occupies a unique space in our cultural landscape, and I believe we can help make our world a more vibrant place by chasing equity with intentionality, authenticity, and humility. I look forward to the progress we can make and lives we change as we work hand-in-hand with our franchisees, team members, and community partners towards this vision.”
Lewis joined Pizza Hut four years ago as a Director on the Pizza Hut Legal team, and most recently led the Pizza Hut Express division as a Senior Director. Prior to joining Pizza Hut, Lewis was a legal associate with Baker Botts, LLP, clerked for the U.S. Department of Justice, and led national employment and diversity recruiting efforts for McMaster-Carr Supply Company. He graduated from Howard University and Harvard Law School.
“An experienced, highly skilled, and universally admired leader at Pizza Hut and in the local community, I can think of no better person than Chequan to serve as our first Chief Equity Officer,” said Cristi Lockett, Chief People Officer, Pizza Hut. “His leadership and guidance will strengthen our people-first culture and allow us to embrace new strategies that advance diversity, equity and inclusion among the entire Pizza Hut system.”
Outside of his role at Pizza Hut, Lewis currently serves on the Board of Directors for both the Dallas Zoo and City Square and on the Board of Advisors for the SMU Dedman School of Law Robert B. Rowling Center for Business Law & Leadership. Previously, he worked with the Office of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to analyze economic revitalization efforts in southern Dallas, and he served as chairman of the City of Dallas’s South Dallas-Fair Park Opportunity Fund. In this role, he led the city board’s efforts to invest municipal funds via grants and loans, in a historically marginalized area of Dallas.
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About Pizza Hut®
Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), has more restaurant locations in the world than any other pizza company. Founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kan., Pizza Hut operates over 18,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries.
With easy order options including the Pizza Hut app, mobile site, and Amazon and Google devices, Pizza Hut is committed to providing an easy pizza experience – from order to delivery – and has Hut Rewards, the Pizza Hut loyalty program that offers points for every dollar spent on food any way you order.
Pizza Hut has built a legacy of nurturing a love of reading through its BOOK IT! Program, which has impacted more than 65 million students in 35 years. The pizza company strengthened its commitment in 2016 when it launched Pizza Hut: The Literacy Project, a commitment to impacting 100 million lives by enabling access to books and educational resources, empowering teachers and inspiring readers. Since 2016, Pizza Hut has impacted over 26.2 million lives through its literacy initiatives and programs. For more information, visit www.pizzahut.com. Pizza Hut is the Official and Only Pizza Sponsor of the NFL and NCAA®.