Form DEF 14A YUM BRANDS INC For: May 11

The Board has made these materials available to you over the internet, or has delivered printed versions of these materials to you by mail, in connection with the Board’s solicitation of proxies for use at the 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”). The Annual Meeting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time, at 7100 Corporate Drive, Plano,

Texas or via live webcast through the link set forth above. You will need the 16-digit control number provided on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or your proxy card (see below). This solicitation is for proxies for use at the Annual Meeting or at any reconvened meeting after an adjournment or postponement of the Annual Meeting.

As permitted by Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules, we are making this proxy statement and our Annual Report available to our shareholders electronically via the Internet. On or about April 1, 2021, we mailed to our shareholders a Notice containing instructions on how to access this proxy statement and our Annual Report and vote online. If you received a Notice by mail you will not receive a printed copy of the proxy materials in the mail unless you request a copy. The Notice instructs you on how to access and review all of the important information

contained in the proxy statement and Annual Report. The Notice also instructs you on how you may submit your proxy over the Internet. If you received a Notice by mail and would like to receive a printed copy of our proxy materials, you should follow the instructions for requesting such materials contained on the Notice.

We encourage you to take advantage of the availability of the proxy materials on the Internet in order to help lower the costs of delivery and reduce the Company’s environmental impact.

You will need valid picture identification and either an admission ticket or proof of ownership of YUM’s common stock to enter the Annual Meeting. If you are a registered owner, your Notice will be your admission ticket.

If you received the proxy statement and Annual Report by mail, you will find an admission ticket attached to the proxy card sent to you. If you plan to attend the Annual Meeting in person, please so indicate when you vote and bring the ticket with you to the Annual Meeting. If your shares are held in the name of a bank or broker, you will need to bring your legal proxy from your bank or broker and your admission ticket. If you do not bring your admission ticket, you will need proof of ownership to be admitted to the Annual Meeting. A recent brokerage statement or letter from a bank or broker is an example of proof of ownership. If you arrive at the Annual Meeting without an admission

ticket, we will admit you only if we are able to verify that you are a YUM shareholder. Your admittance to the Annual Meeting will depend upon availability of seating. All shareholders will be required to present valid picture identification prior to admittance. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE VALID PICTURE IDENTIFICATION AND EITHER AN ADMISSION TICKET OR PROOF THAT YOU OWN YUM COMMON STOCK, YOU MAY NOT BE ADMITTED INTO THE ANNUAL MEETING.

Please note that computers, cameras, sound or video recording equipment, cellular and smart phones, tablets and other similar devices, large bags, briefcases and packages will not be allowed in the meeting room. Seating is limited and admission is on a first-come, first-served basis. Seating may be further limited if necessary to comply with applicable COVID-19 safety guidelines.

You may also attend the Annual Meeting, vote and submit a question during the Annual Meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/YUM2021 and using your 16-digit control number (included on your Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials, Proxy Card, or Voter Instruction Form) to enter the meeting. If you are not a stockholder of record by holding shares as a beneficial owner in street name, you may be required to provide proof of beneficial ownership, such as your most recent

account statement as of the Record Date, a copy of the voting instruction form provided by your broker, bank, trustee, or nominee, or other similar evidence of ownership. If you do not comply with the procedures outlined above, you will not be admitted to the virtual Annual Meeting. Online access will begin at 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time, and we encourage you to access the meeting prior to the start time. The meeting webcast will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. Central Time on May 11, 2021.

Yes. Representatives of the Company will answer shareholders’ questions of general interest following the Annual Meeting. In order to give a greater number of shareholders an opportunity to ask questions, individuals or groups will be allowed to ask only one question and no repetitive or follow-up questions will be permitted. If you

choose to attend the online meeting, you may submit a question during the Annual Meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/YUM2021 and using your 16-digit control number to enter the meeting.

Questions will be answered as time allows.

You will be voting on the following three (3) items of business at the Annual Meeting:

We will also consider other business that properly comes before the meeting.

Our Board of Directors recommends that you vote your shares:

There are three ways to vote before the meeting:

If you are a participant in the direct stock purchase and dividend reinvestment plan (ComputerShare CIP), as a registered shareholder, you will receive all proxy materials and may vote your shares according to the procedures outlined herein.

If you are a participant in the YUM! Brands 401(k) Plan (“401(k) Plan”), the trustee of the 401(k) Plan will only vote the shares for which it has received directions to vote from you.

Proxies submitted through the Internet or by telephone as described above must be received by 11:59 p.m.,

Eastern Time, on May 10, 2021. Proxies submitted by mail must be received prior to the meeting. Directions submitted by 401(k) Plan participants must be received by 12:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on May 9, 2021.

Also, if you hold your shares in the name of a bank or broker, your ability to vote by telephone or the Internet depends on their voting processes. Please follow the directions on your notice carefully. A number of brokerage firms and banks participate in a program provided through Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”) that offers telephone and Internet voting options. If your shares are held in an account with a brokerage firm or bank participating in the Broadridge program, you may vote those shares telephonically by calling the telephone number shown on the voting instruction form received from your brokerage firm or bank, or through the Internet at Broadridge’s voting website (www.proxyvote.com). Votes submitted through the Internet or by telephone through the Broadridge program must be received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on May 10, 2021.

Shares registered directly in your name as the shareholder of record may be voted in person or online at the Annual Meeting. Shares held through a broker or nominee may be voted in person only if you obtain a legal proxy from the broker or nominee that holds your shares giving you the right to vote the shares.

Even if you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, we encourage you to vote your shares by proxy. You may still vote your shares in person at the meeting even if you have previously voted by proxy.

You may change your vote at any time before the polls close at the Annual Meeting. You may do this by:

Your attendance at the Annual Meeting will not have the effect of revoking a proxy unless you notify our Corporate Secretary in writing before the polls close that you wish to revoke a previous proxy.

If you vote by proxy card, your shares will be voted as you instruct by the individuals named on the proxy card. If you sign and return a proxy card but do not specify how your shares are to be voted, the persons named as proxies on the proxy card will vote your shares in accordance with the recommendations of the Board. These recommendations are:

It means that you have multiple accounts with brokers and/or our transfer agent. Please vote all of these shares. We recommend that you contact your broker and/or our transfer agent to consolidate as many

accounts as possible under the same name and address. Our transfer agent is Computershare, Inc., which may be reached at 1 (888) 439-4986 and internationally at 1 (781) 575-2879.

Your shares may be voted if they are held in the name of a brokerage firm, even if you do not provide the brokerage firm with voting instructions. Brokerage firms have the authority under the New York Stock Exchange rules to vote shares for which their customers do not provide voting instructions on certain “routine” matters.

The proposal to ratify the selection of KPMG LLP as our independent auditors for fiscal year 2021 is considered a routine matter for which brokerage firms

may vote shares for which they have not received voting instructions. The other proposals to be voted on at our Annual Meeting are not considered “routine” under applicable rules. When a proposal is not a routine matter and the brokerage firm has not received voting instructions from the beneficial owner of the shares with respect to that proposal, the brokerage firm cannot vote the shares on that proposal. This is called a “broker non-vote.”

Your shares are counted as present at the Annual Meeting if you attend the Annual Meeting in person or online or if you properly return a proxy by Internet, telephone or mail. In order for us to conduct our Annual Meeting, a majority of the outstanding shares of

YUM common stock, as of March 15, 2021, must be present or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting. This is referred to as a quorum. Abstentions and broker non-votes will be counted for purposes of establishing a quorum at the Annual Meeting.

You may vote “FOR” each nominee or “AGAINST” each nominee, or “ABSTAIN” from voting on one or more nominees. Unless you mark “AGAINST” or “ABSTAIN” with respect to a particular nominee or nominees or for all nominees, your proxy will be voted “FOR” each of the director nominees named in this proxy statement. In an uncontested election, a nominee will be elected as a director if the number of “FOR” votes exceeds the number of “AGAINST” votes. Abstentions will be counted

as present but not voted. Abstentions and broker non-votes will not affect the outcome of the vote on directors. Full details of the Company’s majority voting policy are set out in our Corporate Governance Principles at https://investors.yum.com/governance/governance-documents/ and at page 22 under “What other significant Board practices does the Company have? — Majority Voting Policy.”

In order to be approved, the other proposals must receive the “FOR” vote of a majority of the shares, present in person or represented by proxy, and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. For each of these items, you may vote “FOR”, “AGAINST” or “ABSTAIN.” Abstentions will be counted as shares present and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. Accordingly,

abstentions will have the same effect as a vote “AGAINST” the proposals. Broker non-votes will not be counted as shares present and entitled to vote with respect to the particular matter on which the broker has not voted. Thus, broker non-votes will not affect the outcome of any of these proposals.

The Nominating and Governance Committee considers candidates for Board membership suggested by its members and other Board members, as well as management and shareholders. The Committee’s charter provides that it may retain a third-party executive search firm to identify candidates from time to time.

In accordance with the Governance Principles, our Board seeks members from diverse professional backgrounds who combine a broad spectrum of experience and expertise with a reputation for integrity. Directors should have experience  in positions with a high degree of responsibility, be leaders in the companies or institutions

with which they are affiliated and are selected based upon contributions they can make to the Board and management. The Committee’s assessment of a proposed candidate will include a review of the person’s judgment, experience, independence, understanding of the Company’s business or other related industries and such other factors as the Nominating and Governance Committee determines are relevant in light of the needs of the Board of Directors. The Committee believes that its nominees should reflect a diversity of experience, gender, race, ethnicity and age. The Board does not have a specific policy regarding director diversity. The Committee also considers such other relevant factors as it deems appropriate, including the current composition of the Board, the balance of management and independent directors, the need for Audit Committee expertise and the evaluations of other prospective nominees, if any.

In connection with this evaluation, it is expected that each member of the Nominating and Governance Committee will interview the prospective nominee before the prospective nominee is presented to the full Board for consideration. After completing this evaluation and interview process, the Committee will make a recommendation to the full Board as to the person(s) who should be nominated by the Board, and the Board determines the nominee(s) after considering the recommendation and report of the Committee.

The Company’s strategic vision is grounded in our “Recipe for Growth and Good.” Our Recipe for Growth focuses on four growth drivers intended to accelerate same-store sales growth and net-new restaurant development at KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell around the world. The Company remains focused on building the world’s most loved, trusted and fastest growing restaurant brands by:

We look for director candidates who have the skills and experience necessary to help us achieve success with respect to the four growth drivers and the Company’s implementation of its “Recipe for Growth.” As a result, the skills that our directors possess are thoroughly considered to ensure that they align with the Company’s goals.

Employee Directors. Employee directors do not receive additional compensation for serving on the Board of Directors.

Non-Employee Directors Annual Compensation. The annual compensation for each non-employee Director is summarized in the table below. For 2020, each non-employee Director received an annual stock grant retainer with a fair market value of $260,000. Directors

may request to receive up to one-half of their stock retainer in cash. The request must be submitted to the Chair of the Management Planning and Development Committee. Directors may also defer payment of their retainers pursuant to the Directors Deferred Compensation Plan. Deferrals are invested in phantom Company stock and paid out in shares of Company stock. Deferrals may not be made for less than two years.

Chairperson of the Board and Committee Chairperson Retainers. In recognition of their added duties, the Chairperson of the Board (Mr. Cornell in 2020) receives an additional $170,000 stock retainer annually and the Chairs of the Audit Committee (Mr. Nelson in 2020), Management Planning and Development Committee (Mr. Connor in 2020) and the Nominating and Governance Committee (Ms. Graddick-Weir in 2020) each receive an additional $25,000, $20,000 and $20,000 annual stock retainer, respectively. These committee chairperson retainers were paid in February of 2020.

Initial Stock Grant upon Joining Board. Non-employee directors also receive a one-time stock grant with a fair market value of $25,000 on the date of grant upon joining the Board, distribution of which is deferred until termination from the Board.

Matching Gifts. To further YUM’s support for charities, non-employee directors are able to participate in the YUM! Brands, Inc. Matching Gifts Program on the same terms as members of YUM’s Global Leadership Team. Under this program, the YUM! Brands Foundation will match up to $10,000 a year in contributions by the director to a charitable institution approved by the YUM! Brands Foundation. At its discretion, the Foundation may match director contributions exceeding $10,000.

Insurance. We also pay the premiums on directors’ and officers’ liability and business travel accident insurance

policies. The annual cost of this coverage was approximately $2 million. This is not included in the tables below as it is not considered compensation to the directors.

In setting director compensation, the Company considers the significant amount of time that directors expend in fulfilling their duties to the Company as well as the skill level required by the Company of members of the Board. The Board reviews each element of director compensation at least every two years.

In November 2020, the Management Planning and Development Committee of the Board (“Committee”) benchmarked the Company’s director compensation against director compensation from the Company’s Executive Peer Group discussed at page 51. Data for this review was prepared for the Committee by its independent consultant, Meridian Compensation Partners LLC. This data revealed that the Company’s total director compensation was at market median measured against this benchmark, that the retainer paid to our Non-Executive Chairperson is slightly above market median and that the retainers paid to the Chairpersons of the Audit Committee, Management Planning and Development Committee and Nominating and Governance Committee were generally consistent with market practice, but were approximately $5,000 below market median. Based on this data, the Committee recommended no changes to our director compensation program.

Under the Company’s policies and procedures for the review of related person transactions the Nominating and Governance Committee reviews related person transactions in which we are or will be a participant to determine if they are in the best interests of our shareholders and the Company. Transactions, arrangements, or relationships or any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships in which a related person had or will have a material interest and that exceed $100,000 are subject to the Nominating and Governance Committee’s review. Any member of the Nominating and Governance Committee who is a related person with respect to a transaction under review may not participate in the deliberation or vote respecting approval or ratification of the transaction.

Related persons are directors, director nominees, executive officers, holders of 5% or more of our voting stock and their immediate family members. Immediate

family members are spouses, parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren, siblings, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law and any person, other than a tenant or domestic employee, who resides in the household of a director, director nominee, executive officer or holder of 5% or more of our voting stock.

After its review, the Nominating and Governance Committee may approve or ratify the transaction. The related person transaction policies and procedures provide that certain transactions are deemed to be pre-approved, even though they exceed $100,000. Pre-approved transactions include employment of executive officers, director compensation, and transactions with other companies if the aggregate amount of the transaction does not exceed the greater of $1 million or 2% of that other company’s total revenues and the related person is not an executive officer of that other company.

The Board believes that the number of shares of the Company’s common stock owned by each non-management director is a personal decision; however, the Board strongly supports the position that non-management directors should own a meaningful number of shares in the Company and expects that each non-management director will (i) own Company common shares with a value of at least five times the

annual Board retainer; (ii) accumulate those shares during the first five years of the director’s service on the Board; and (iii) hold these shares at least until the director departs the Board. Each director may sell enough shares to pay taxes in connection with the receipt of his or her retainer or the exercise of stock appreciation rights and the ownership guideline will be adjusted to reflect the sale to pay taxes.

The Committee has adopted formal stock ownership guidelines that set minimum expectations for executive and senior management ownership. These guidelines are discussed on page 52.

The Company has maintained an ownership culture among its executive and senior managers since its formation. Substantially all executive officers and members of senior management hold stock well in excess of the guidelines.

Director nominations for inclusion in YUM’s proxy materials (Proxy Access). Our bylaws permit a shareholder, or group of up to 20 shareholders, owning continuously for at least three years shares of YUM stock representing an aggregate of at least 3% of our outstanding shares, to nominate and include in YUM’s proxy materials director nominees constituting up to 20% of YUM’s Board, provided that the shareholder(s) and nominee(s) satisfy the requirements in YUM’s bylaws. Notice of proxy access director nominees for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders must be received by us no earlier than November 2, 2021, and no later than December 2, 2021.

Director nominations to be brought before the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

Director nominations that a shareholder intends to present at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, other than through the proxy access procedures described above, must have been received no later than February 10, 2022. These nominations must be submitted by a shareholder in accordance with the requirements specified in YUM’s bylaws.

Where to send director nominations for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Director nominations brought by shareholders must be delivered to YUM’s Corporate Secretary by mail at YUM! Brands, Inc., 1441 Gardiner Lane, Louisville, Kentucky 40213 and received by YUM’s Corporate Secretary by the dates set forth above.

On November 16, 2018, Brian C. Cornell assumed the position of Non-Executive Chairperson of the Board. Applying our Corporate Governance Principles, the Board determined that based on Mr. Cornell’s independence, it would not appoint a Lead Director when Mr. Cornell became Non-Executive Chairperson.

The Nominating and Governance Committee annually reviews the Board’s leadership structure and evaluates the performance and effectiveness of the Board of Directors. The Board retains the authority to modify its leadership structure in order to stay current with our Company’s circumstances and advance the best interests of the Company and its shareholders as and

when appropriate. The Board’s annual self-evaluation includes questions regarding the Board’s opportunities for open communication and the effectiveness of executive sessions.

The Company’s Governance Principles provide that the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) may serve as Chairperson of the Board. These Principles also provide for an independent Lead Director when the CEO is serving as Chairperson. During 2020, our CEO did not serve as Chairperson. Our Board believes that Board independence and oversight of management are effectively maintained through a strong independent Chairperson or Lead Director and

through the Board’s composition, committee system and policy of having regular executive sessions of non-employee directors, all of which are discussed below. As Non-Executive Chairperson, Mr. Cornell is responsible for supporting the CEO on corporate strategy along with leadership development. Mr. Cornell also works with the CEO in setting the agenda and schedule for meetings of the Board, in addition to performing the duties that would otherwise be performed by a Lead Director, as described below.

As CEO, Mr. Gibbs is responsible for leading the Company’s strategies, organization design, people development and culture, and for providing the day-to-day leadership over operations.

To ensure effective independent oversight, the Board has adopted a number of governance practices discussed below.

The Board currently does not have a Lead Director, and the duties of the Lead Director are fulfilled by Mr. Cornell

as Non-Executive Chairperson. Since Mr. Cornell is independent, the Board determined that it would not appoint a separate Lead Director upon Mr. Cornell’s appointment as Non-Executive Chairperson.

The Lead Director position is structured so that one independent Board member is empowered with sufficient authority to ensure independent oversight of the Company and its management. The Lead Director position has no term limit and is subject only to annual approval by the independent members of the Board. Based upon the recommendation of the Nominating and Governance Committee, the Board has determined that the Lead Director, when appointed, is responsible for:

The Board maintains overall responsibility for overseeing the Company’s risk management, including succession planning, food safety and information and digital security. In furtherance of its responsibility, the Board

has delegated specific risk-related responsibilities to the Audit Committee and to the Management Planning and Development Committee.

The Audit Committee engages in substantive discussions of risk management at its regular committee meetings held during the year. At these meetings, it receives functional risk review reports covering significant areas of risk from the employees responsible for these functional areas, as well as receiving reports from the Chief Legal Officer and the Vice President, Internal Audit. Our Vice President, Internal Audit reports directly to the Chairperson of the Audit Committee and our Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”). The Audit Committee also receives reports at each meeting regarding legal and regulatory risks from management and meets in separate executive

sessions with our independent auditors and our Vice President, Internal Audit. The Audit Committee provides a summary to the full Board at each regular Board meeting of the risk area reviewed together with any other risk related subjects discussed at the Audit Committee meeting.

In addition, our Management Planning and Development Committee considers the risks that may be implicated by our compensation programs through a risk assessment conducted by management and reports its conclusions to the full Board.

Information security and privacy has been and remains of the utmost importance to the Company in light of the value we place on maintaining the trust and confidence of our consumers, employees and other stakeholders. Accordingly, our Chief Information Security Officer and Chief Digital and Technology Officer advise the Audit Committee (at least four times per year) and the full Board of Directors regularly on our program for managing information security risks, including data privacy and data protection risks. We internally follow the NIST Cybersecurity Framework to assess the maturity of our cybersecurity programs. Additionally, we have in place a formal privacy group combining resources from our information security and legal teams. Other aspects of our comprehensive information security program include:

In addition, the Company maintains an information security risk insurance policy that provides coverage for data security breaches.

The Company has an integrated, Board and executive-level governance structure to oversee its global sustainability initiatives. Oversight for environmental, social and governance issues ultimately resides with the Board of Directors. The Board receives regular updates on these matters from management through the Audit Committee. At the

operational level, the Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer is responsible for overseeing the global reputation of YUM and is responsible for shaping the Citizenship and Sustainability Strategy, as approved by the Board, with the Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President of Government Relations.

As stated in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis at page 35, the philosophy of our compensation programs is to reward performance by designing pay programs that incorporate team and individual performance, and shareholder return; emphasize long-term incentives; drive ownership mentality; and require executives to personally invest in Company stock.

In early 2021, the Committee examined our compensation programs for all employees to determine whether they encourage unnecessary or excessive risk taking. In conducting this review, each of our compensation practices and programs was reviewed against the key risks facing the Company in the conduct of its business. Based on this review, the Committee concluded our compensation policies and practices do not encourage our employees to take unreasonable or excessive risks.

As part of this assessment, the Committee concluded the following policies and practices of the Company’s cash and equity incentive programs serve to reduce the likelihood of excessive risk taking:

The Company’s Governance Principles, adopted by the Board, require that we meet the listing standards of the NYSE. The full text of the Governance Principles can be found on the Company’s website (https://investors.yum.com/governance/governance-documents/).

Pursuant to the Governance Principles, the Board undertook its annual review of director independence. During this review, the Board considered transactions and relationships between each director or any member of his or her immediate family and the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates. As provided in the Governance Principles, the purpose of this review was to determine whether any such relationships or transactions were inconsistent with a determination that the director is independent.

As a result of this review, the Board affirmatively determined that all of the directors are independent of the Company and its management under NYSE rules, with the exception of David Gibbs, who is not considered independent because of his employment by the Company.

In determining that the other directors did not have a material relationship with the Company, the Board determined that Messrs. Alves, Barr, Connor, Nelson, Skala and Mmes. Domier, Graddick-Weir, Hobart, Stock and Young-Scrivner had no other relationship with the Company other than their relationship as a director. The Board did note as discussed in the next paragraph that Target Corporation, which employs Mr. Cornell, has a business relationship with the Company; however, as noted below, the Board

determined that this relationship was not material to Mr. Cornell or Target Corporation, and therefore determined that Mr. Cornell was independent. In early 2020, the Board determined that Robert C. Walter, who served on the Board until May 2020, was also independent.

Brian C. Cornell is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Target Corporation. During 2020, the Company received approximately $5 million in license fees from Target Corporation in the normal course of business. Divisions of the Company paid Target Corporation approximately $1 million in rebates in 2020. The Board determined that these payments did not create a material relationship between the Company and Mr. Cornell or the Company and Target Corporation as the payments represent less than 2% of Target Corporation’s revenues. Furthermore, the licensing relationship between the Company and Target Corporation was initially entered into before

Mr. Cornell joined the Board or became employed by Target Corporation.

Michael J. Cavanagh, who served on the Board until October 2020, is the Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Comcast Corporation. During 2019, the Company, its affiliates and their respective franchisees collectively paid approximately $42 million to affiliates of Comcast for broadband services. In addition, U.S. brand advertising cooperatives, to which each of the Company’s brands and their franchisees contribute funds to purchase media for advertising, purchased approximately $72 million in advertising from affiliates of Comcast. In early 2020, the Board determined that these payments did not create a material relationship between the Company and Mr. Cavanagh or the Company and Comcast Corporation as the payments represented less than 2% of Comcast Corporation’s revenues.

Shareholders and other parties interested in communicating directly with individual directors, the non-management directors as a group or the entire Board may do so by writing to the Nominating and Governance Committee, c/o Corporate Secretary, YUM! Brands, Inc., 1441 Gardiner Lane, Louisville, Kentucky 40213. The Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board has approved a process for handling letters received by the Company and addressed to individual directors, non-management members of the Board or the Board. Under that process, the Corporate Secretary of the Company reviews all such correspondence and regularly forwards to a designated individual member of the Nominating and Governance Committee copies of all such correspondence (although we do not forward commercial correspondence and correspondence duplicative in nature; however, we will retain duplicate correspondence and all duplicate correspondence will be available for directors’ review upon their request)

and a summary of all such correspondence. The designated director of the Nominating and Governance Committee will forward correspondence directed to individual directors as he or she deems appropriate. Directors may at any time review a log of all correspondence received by the Company that is addressed to members of the Board and request copies of any such correspondence. Written correspondence from shareholders relating to accounting, internal controls or auditing matters are immediately brought to the attention of the Company’s Audit Committee Chair and to the internal audit department and handled in accordance with procedures established by the Audit Committee with respect to such matters (described below). Correspondence from shareholders relating to Management Planning and Development Committee matters are referred to the Chair of the Management Planning and Development Committee.

The Audit Committee has established policies on reporting concerns regarding accounting and other matters in addition to our policy on communicating with our non-management directors. Any person, whether or not an employee, who has a concern about the conduct of the Company or any of our people, with respect to accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters, may, in a confidential or anonymous manner, communicate that concern to our Chief Legal Officer, Scott A. Catlett. If any person believes that he or she should communicate with our Audit Committee Chair, Paget Alves, he or she may do so by writing him at c/o YUM! Brands, Inc., 1441

Gardiner Lane, Louisville, KY 40213. In addition, a person who has such a concern about the conduct of the Company or any of our employees may discuss that concern on a confidential or anonymous basis by contacting The Network at 1 (844) 418-4423. The Network is our designated external contact for these issues and is authorized to contact the appropriate members of management and/or the Board of Directors with respect to all concerns it receives. The full text of our Policy on Reporting of Concerns Regarding Accounting and Other Matters is available on our website at https://investors.yum.com/governance/governance-documents/.

The Audit Committee has implemented a policy for the pre-approval of all audit and permitted non-audit services, including tax services, proposed to be provided to the Company by its independent auditors. Under the policy, the Audit Committee may approve engagements on a case-by-case basis or pre-approve engagements pursuant to the Audit Committee’s pre-approval policy. The Audit Committee may delegate pre-approval authority to one of its independent members and has currently delegated pre-approval authority up to certain amounts to its Chair.

Pre-approvals for services are granted at the January Audit Committee meeting each year. Any incremental audit or permitted non-audit services which are expected to exceed the relevant budgetary guideline must subsequently be pre-approved. In considering

pre-approvals, the Audit Committee reviews a description of the scope of services falling within pre-designated services and imposes specific budgetary guidelines. Pre-approvals of designated services are generally effective for the succeeding 12 months.

The Corporate Controller monitors services provided by the independent auditors and overall compliance with the pre-approval policy. The Corporate Controller reports periodically to the Audit Committee about the status of outstanding engagements, including actual services provided and associated fees, and must promptly report any non-compliance with the pre-approval policy to the Chair of the Audit Committee. The complete policy is available on the Company’s website at https://investors.yum.com/governance/committee-composition-and-charters/.

Our performance-based executive compensation program is designed to attract, reward and retain the talented leaders necessary for our Company to succeed in the highly competitive market for talent, while maximizing shareholder returns. This approach has made our management team a key driver in the Company’s strong performance over both the long- and short-term. We believe that our compensation program has attracted and retained strong leaders and is closely aligned with the interests of our shareholders.

In deciding how to vote on this proposal, we urge you to read the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section of this proxy statement, beginning on page 35,

which discusses in detail how our compensation policies and procedures operate and are designed to meet our compensation goals and how our Management Planning and Development Committee makes compensation decisions under our programs.

Accordingly, we ask our shareholders to vote in favor of the following resolution at the Annual Meeting:

RESOLVED, that the shareholders approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation awarded to our Named Executive Officers, as disclosed pursuant to SEC rules, including the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the compensation tables and related materials included in this proxy statement.

Approval of this proposal requires the affirmative vote of a majority of shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. While this vote is advisory and non-binding on the Company, the Board of Directors and the Management Planning and Development Committee will review the voting results and consider

shareholder concerns in their continuing evaluation of the Company’s compensation program. Unless the Board of Directors modifies its policy on the frequency of this advisory vote, the next advisory vote on executive compensation will be held at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

This table shows the beneficial ownership of YUM common stock as of December 31, 2020 by

Unless we note otherwise, each of the following persons and their family members have sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares of common stock beneficially owned by him or her. None of the persons in this table (nor the Directors and executive officers as a group) holds in excess of one percent of the outstanding YUM common stock. Please see table above setting forth information concerning beneficial ownership by holders of five percent or more of YUM’s common stock.

The table shows the number of shares of common stock and common stock equivalents beneficially owned as of December 31, 2020. Included are shares that could have been acquired within 60 days of December 31, 2020 through the exercise of stock options, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) or distributions from the Company’s deferred compensation plans, together with additional underlying stock units as described in footnote (4) to the table. Under SEC rules, beneficial ownership includes any shares as to which the individual has either sole or shared voting power or investment power and also any shares that the individual has the right to acquire within 60 days through the exercise of any stock option or other right.

2020 presented unprecedented challenges to our business that required the talents and diligence of the Company’s leadership, employees and franchisee partners to overcome. Despite these challenges, our results demonstrated the Company’s resilience and validated the strategies put in place during the transformation of YUM. We intensified our focus on leveraging our scale and reinforced our growth model, accelerating our investments in digital and technology to enhance the customer experience, off-premise capabilities and unit economics. In 2020, digital sales hit a record of $17 billion, about a 45% increase over the prior year, and exemplified the ability of our brands to quickly pivot to meet new consumer needs. In addition, we were able to complete the acquisition of The Habit Burger Grill in March, which added another exciting, growth-focused brand to our portfolio. As we have moved into 2021, we are more confident than ever in the ability of our teams and franchisees to compete and win in a rapidly changing world.

The Company’s 2020 performance reflects the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had significant negative effects on our performance, particularly during the second and third quarters. For the year, our system sales declined 4% (excluding foreign currency translation), including a decline in same-store sales growth of 6%. During the year we were able to deliver development growth of 183 net-new units. Our core operating profit decreased by approximately 8% during 2020 (see pages 32 and 33 in Item 7 of YUM’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended on December 31,

2020 for a discussion of System Sales and Core Operating Profit).

Going forward, we will continue to rely on Our Recipe for Growth and Good. Under our Recipe for Growth, we will focus on our four key growth drivers which continue to guide our long-term strategy and form the basis of the Company’s strategic plans to accelerate same-store sales growth and net-new restaurant development around the world. The Company remains focused on building the world’s most loved, trusted and fastest growing restaurant brands by: (i) growing Unrivaled Culture and Talent to leverage our culture and people capability to fuel brand performance and franchise success; (ii) developing Unmatched Operating Capability by recruiting and equipping the best restaurant operators in the world to deliver great customer experiences; (iii) building Relevant, Easy and Distinctive Brands by innovating and elevating iconic restaurant brands people trust and champion; and (iv) achieving Bold Restaurant Development by driving market and franchise expansion with strong economics. By leveraging our Recipe for Good - our roadmap for socially responsible and sustainable stewardship of people, food and planet internally and across our supply chain and franchise system - we will elevate the importance of people and continue building an equitable and inclusive culture that, in turn, helps us better serve our customers and communities where we operate. We remain confident in our business model and in the strength of our iconic brands as we look to accelerate growth in 2021.

The business performance of the Company is of the utmost importance in how our executives are compensated. Our compensation program is designed to both support our long-term growth model and hold

our executives accountable to achieve key annual results year after year. YUM’s compensation philosophy for the NEOs is reviewed annually by the Committee and has the following objectives:

2020 Compensation Highlights