Huffington Magazine Issue 48 | Page 48

AP PHOTO/BOB STRONG THE GREASE TRAP vent Cool Ranch Doritos and opening thousands of KFC outlets across China. According to Forbes, Novak received a salary of nearly $1.5 million in 2011. He also earned some $19 million in stock awards and other forms of compensation, making him one of the country’s bestcompensated executives. Novak attributes his success not only to his hard work, but HUFFINGTON 05.12.13 also to his long-standing belief in the importance of recognizing the contributions of everyone on the payroll, from fellow executives to cashiers and janitors. In his memoir, he tells of getting stiffed on a tip while working at the desk of a Holiday Inn in his youth. “I’ll remember until the day I die how bad that made me feel,” he writes. “It was probably my first realization about why rewarding people for a job well done is so important.” Yum! Brands Corporation CEO David Novak at the floor of the N.Y. Stock Exchange in 1997.