Rowena Neelakantan is a senior manager of International Strategic Market Planning. Her QSR journey began in Dubai (UAE) overseeing the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for Yum Brands (KFC & Pizza Hut), before diving into the international market with Pizza Hut Global and most recently with Papa John’s International.
She has built a best-in-class development tool to navigate strategic planning and execution. Her expertise includes creating strategic market plans, developing site success criteria, and initiating a new site approval process which has unanimously propelled global brand expansion while maximizing brand potential.
She’s credited with accelerating restaurant build growth and institutionalizing market strategies that bring greater discipline to the QSR franchise community. She is a credible partner to franchisees worldwide, collaborative, full of integrity, and well-respected.