About

Navdeep Choudhary has served as general counsel and head of the legal department at Yum! since 2016 and has in that time modernised and brought many changes to the department. He has brought in digital means and rolled out a comprehensive contract management system, litigation management system, and lease management system for easing out the process and for better control. He has also put in place litigation management, secretarial audit and regulatory compliance processes as well as implemented a new risk policy in accordance with the Companies Act 2013 and conducted a risk assessment over the entire company. Choudhary has also started training the business teams on implications of different Indian laws such as the Contract Act, IT Act, Labour laws, and the Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace among others. These changes and innovations have greatly increased the productivity of the legal department. Under Choudhary’s guidance, the team worked on the sale of company stores to franchises and dealt with any litigations resulting including a litigation in Turkey over a labour matter. Closer to home, the team has succeeded in a writ position with the Bombay High court against MIAL, and against authorities over the Food Safety Act and Metrology Act. The team has also worked on an arbitration against a silicon group and against a landlord in Chennai. Their work has also supported the Pizza Hut business of the company across the entire Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Pakistan from the India office. Choudhary says that this gave ‘great insights in civil law jurisdictions versus common law jurisdiction.’ He also adds that, ‘handling the company liquidation and various litigations in Turkey’, has been a highlight of his tenure at Yum!.