David C. Novak

David Novak, the oldest of three children and the only son of Charles and Jean Novak, was born in 1952 in Beeville, Texas. His father worked as a surveyor for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. "My father marked the latitudes and longitudes for the nation's mapmakers. To do that, we traveled in a government-issued truck and pulled our 8-foot by 40-foot trailer from one small town to the next," he recalled. "Until I was 12, you could say I lived a nomadic life."

Novak's parents had humble beginnings. "My mother grew up in a town in Missouri with a population of 500," he says. "She was working in a bank, and one day my father came in to cash a check. He asked her to go with him to a dance, and they married soon thereafter." He says his parents "taught me to believe in the values that make our country great, such as hard work and the idea that if you believe in yourself and your abilities, then there is nothing that can stop you from achieving."

By the time Novak was 12, he had lived in 32 trailer parks in 23 states. The one thing that helped make those frequent moves tolerable was that members of his family were a part of a survey group that always included around 15 families. "We all traveled together, so it was like having an extended family," he says. "I remember we always raced each other to the next trailer park to see who would get the best spot. I don't think any of the parents had college degrees, but most of the kids in the survey party ended up going to college. We were a group that was pursuing the American dream."

One of Novak's first mentors was his mother. Every time they moved to a new place, she registered him at the local school. "She would say, '˜David, you've got to take the initiative to make friends. Don't hang back and wait for the other kids to come to you. We're only going to be here for a few months, so make them count.'"

He recalls, "That's how I learned how to size up people in a hurry and to quickly figure out whom the good ones are and whom I should avoid."

Novak's early life in a trailer was cramped. "I slept on the top bunk, and my sister was below me. When we watched TV, there was only one tiny sofa to sit on," he says. To this day when I am with my sisters, we sit close together. We are a very loving family. My sisters always had my back, and I had theirs."

Novak enjoyed sports as a boy, especially baseball. His father coached his Little League baseball teams, and nearly the whole surveying party attended his games. Shortly before starting seventh grade, Novak's traveling days ended when his father was promoted to head of the survey mark maintenance division in Kansas City, Missouri, the family's first permanent location. Novak's mother supplemented the family's income by selling Avon products and doing the bookkeeping at a nearby theater.

As a teenager, Novak had various part-time jobs such as mowing lawns, working as a janitor, and selling encyclopedias door to door. Later, he worked construction. During high school, Novak was on the debate team and edited the school newspaper. He particularly liked to write, but he never spent much time contemplating his future.

Novak became the first person in his family to get a college education. He attended the University of Missouri and served as rush chairman of his fraternity, which gave him free room and board. He also did all kinds of odd jobs, including picking up trash at the local shopping mall. His first two years were lackluster, but his grades improved once he took an advertising class. Novak majored in journalism with an advertising minor and graduated as Outstanding Advertising Senior Male in 1974.

After graduation, Novak married his college sweetheart, Wendy, with only $19 in the bank. He joined an advertising agency in Washington, D.C., as a copywriter, earning $7,200 a year. He was also a Holiday Inn night desk clerk. Novak's dream was to work for a major New York ad agency. He eventually joined Ketchum, a leading public relations agency, to work on the Heinz account. Later, he moved to Tracy Locke, another PR firm, to manage PepsiCo's Frito-Lay accounts including Tostitos, Doritos, and Lays.

Soon after that, Novak became chief marketing officer of PepsiCo's Pizza Hut division and then executive vice president of marketing and sales for Pepsi-Cola. In that position, he created award-winning marketing campaigns for Pepsi and Mountain Dew, and he broadened Pepsi's portfolio from just carbonated soft drinks to a total beverage company. From there, he became chief operating officer of Pepsi-Cola, then CEO of KFC's U.S. division and later CEO of both KFC and Pizza Hut U.S.

"While my rapid rise to the top might suggest that I had some master plan, brilliantly conceived and impeccably executed, nothing could be further from the truth," says Novak. "This is why I often describe my career as '˜accidental', more a matter of the paths not taken than the paths that were, but I always pushed the boundaries and took advantage of opportunities that happened to come my way."

In 1997, PepsiCo spun off KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, and Novak became vice chairman and president of the new company, Yum! Brands. He was promoted to CEO in 1999, chairman in 2000, and executive chairman in 2015. Novak has built Yum! into one of the world's largest restaurant companies, doubling its size to 41,000 restaurants in 125 countries with 1.5 million associates. Under his leadership, Yum! became a global powerhouse, with nearly 70 percent of its profits coming from outside the United States, up from 20 percent in 1997.

Looking back over his illustrious career, Novak says, "I guess you could say that while I didn't always know where I was going, I sure am blessed with where I ended up. I think I am proof positive that you never know what you're capable of. I trusted my instincts and was open to opportunities when they were presented. I believe that you are only as good as you think you are, and it is only yourself that can hold you back."

Novak advises those starting their careers to follow their passions. "I pursued my love for marketing, advertising, and leadership, and in doing so, I don't feel as if I have worked since I left college," he says. "It's more like I've been pursuing my hobby. I am an avid learner, and I had bosses who took me under their wings and taught me all they knew. It's important to be self-aware; know your strengths and weaknesses."

In accepting his Horatio Alger Award, Novak says he would not have come this far without the love and support of his parents. "They gave me the opportunity to pursue the American dream, but their dream wasn't that I would become a CEO of a major corporation," he says. "Their dream was that I would be prepared to pursue opportunities that came my way. I can't think of any better way to honor my mother and father than accepting this award."

Chief Executive magazine recognized Novak in 2012 as CEO of the Year, while Barron's included him in its "30 Best CEOs" list in 2011, and Fortune ranked him 14th on its 2010 "Top People in Business" list. Likewise, Harvard Business Review named him among the "100 Best-Performing CEOs in the World."

In January 2012, Novak published Taking People with You: The Only Way to Make BIG Things Happen. The book, which became a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, is based on Novak's successful leadership program promoting teamwork and a system that recognizes and rewards customer-focused behavior. He has donated all proceeds from the book, along with speaking fees and the proceeds of his autobiography, The Education of an Accidental CEO: Lessons Learned from the Trailer Park to the Corner Office, to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). So far, those donations have exceeded $2 million.

"My daily philosophy in life is to be grateful that I have had a job that has impacted people around the world," says Novak. "I want to lift the life of others. I want to help people be the best they can possibly be. That's what gets me up every day."

Under Novak's leadership, Yum! has donated $600 million in cash and food since 2007 to WFP and other hunger relief agencies. He is a board member of WFP USA and is a recipient of WFP's Leadership Award as well as the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship. In 1999, the Novaks established the Lift a Life Foundation to support hunger relief, early childhood education, a cure for juvenile diabetes, support of military families, and leadership development.

Their daughter, Ashley Butler, is the foundation's director and helped implement the Lead2Feed World Hunger Leadership Challenge, which encourages middle and high school students to hone their leadership skills through hunger relief projects using principles from Taking People with You. Since its inception in 2012, nearly half a million students from 2,500 schools and clubs have participated in Lead2Feed for a chance to win more than $250,000 in grant money.

The Novaks also established the Wendy L. Novak Juvenile Diabetes Care Center at the University of Louisville's Kosair Children's Hospital. "My wife, Wendy, has battled juvenile diabetes since she was seven, and she has been a source of inspiration and courage throughout our 40 years together," says Novak. When asked to define success, he is quick is say, "It certainly isn't money. I think success is making a positive difference, making your life count by helping others."