Comcast SpinCo Appoints Ex-Fast Food CEO David Novak As Chairman

Comcast has appointed David Novak, one of its board members and the former CEO of fast food company Yum! Brands, as chairman of its soon-to-spin-off collection of cable TV networks.

SpinCo, as the entity is called on a temporary basis, is aiming to separate from Comcast by the end of the year. It will have major networks including MSNBC, USA and others from the NBCUniversal fold, with Bravo remaining at the parent company with NBC and Telemundo.

In a statement, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts saluted the “talent and success” of Novak, who steered Yum from 2000 to 2014. PepsiCo created Yum as a stand-alone entity (speaking of spincos) after acquiring KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

“With David’s track record of driving growth and value creation at public companies, he is the ideal person to assemble and lead a world-class board,” Roberts said. “David has been an invaluable member of Comcast’s board and widely recognized as a top CEO – I’m confident that he will work with Mark Lazarus to give the new company a distinct advantage from day one.”

Novak will step down from Comcast’s board, on which he has served since 2016, upon the completion of the spinoff transaction.

“David is highly regarded as a strategic leader with a unique skillset and decades of experience overseeing portfolios of brands and executing the successful spin-off of Yum! Brands from PepsiCo,” said Lazarus, the longtime NBCU exec who is CEO-in-waiting of SpinCo. “We look forward to working closely with David as we develop SpinCo’s long-term strategy to maximize the value and potential of our iconic media assets.” 

Novak is the Founder and CEO of David Novak Leadership, a digital leadership development platform. Novak sits on the Board of the Lift-a-Life Novak Family Foundation.  He previously served as chairman of the board of Yum! Brands from 2001 to 2014, executive chairman from 2015 to 2016 and a director on the JPMorgan Chase board from 2001 to 2012. 

“It’s an honor to be appointed Chair of SpinCo’s board during this dynamic time in the media industry,” Novak said. “This is a unique opportunity to build around SpinCo’s incredible portfolio of assets alongside some of the top talent in this ever-evolving industry. I look forward to working closely with Mark and the rest of the leadership team to create the leading independent, modern media company.”  

Along with USA Network and MSNBC, SpinCo’s portfolio will include Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, along with digital assets Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and SportsEngine. Led by the cable networks, whose reach exceeds 65 million U.S. households, SpinCo is projected to generate $7 billion in annual revenue.