Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 2026 — Nitika Datta has stepped into a new position as Head of Talent Acquisition, AMEA at Yum! Brands, where she now leads the strategic talent agenda across Australia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa for global brands including Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell. In this expanded mandate, she is responsible for developing and executing an integrated talent strategy across diverse markets to drive sustained growth and talent innovation.
Nitika joined Yum! Brands in 2023 and has since taken on progressive leadership roles in talent acquisition. Most recently, she served as Staffing Lead – Global Franchise & International Operating Markets for Pizza Hut, where she played a pivotal role in hiring leadership talent across seven regions, while supporting global mandates for digital and technology functions. Earlier, as Talent Acquisition Lead for Pizza Hut – Global Franchise Markets, she was instrumental in defining and deploying recruitment strategies across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
Prior to Yum!, Nitika led MEA recruiting at DiDi, spearheading the tech platform’s expansion into the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and South Africa. She played a critical role in building launch teams and hiring leaders across business and technology verticals, also supporting LATAM operations in Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and Brazil.
Earlier, she worked with Uber as Senior Talent Partner for India & South Asia, managing hiring for the rides and operations vertical across India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. At Myntra Jabong, she served as Lead – Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding, leading end-to-end hiring across technology and business functions.
Nitika’s earlier experiences include tenures with global executive search firms like Sheffield Haworth and Positive Moves, where she focused on senior-level hiring across BFSI, real estate, and ecommerce sectors in APAC and MENA regions. She holds an MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies.
About Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands, Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, operates and franchises more than 60,000 restaurants in over 155 countries and territories through brands such as KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and The Habit Burger Grill. As one of the world’s largest restaurant companies, Yum! Brands is committed to nurturing a high-performance culture driven by people capability and development. With a workforce-first philosophy, Yum! continues to offer career advancement opportunities while creating a flexible and inclusive work environment globally.
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