LOUISVILLE, KY. — Yum! Brands, Inc. has named executives to two newly created tech-focused positions, hiring Clay Johnson as chief digital and technology officer and Gavin Felder as chief strategy officer.

The new positions will partner with the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell divisions to advance the company’s technological capabilities.

Mr. Johnson will lead Yum! Brands’ global technology strategy, overseeing cross-brand efforts to improve mobile, online, delivery and restaurant operations. He also will manage the company’s global technology risk management and I.T. services teams. Mr. Johnson has more than 20 years of technology leadership across Fortune 500 companies, including GE, Boeing and Dell. He joins Yum! Brands from Walmart, where he was executive vice-president and enterprise chief information officer. His appointment is effective Oct. 15.

Mr. Felder will develop the company’s long-term corporate strategies. He was chief financial officer at KFC for the past five years, overseeing strategy, digital and technology, financial planning, supply chain and I.T. security for KFC’s 23,000 restaurants across 135 countries. He will remain c.f.o. at KFC until a successor is named. He assumes his new post in December.

“We believe Clay Johnson and Gavin Felder are the ideal executives to accelerate Yum! Brands’ growth through technology-centric strategies that advance the customer experience and ultimately deliver better economics and more value for our franchisees and shareholders,” said David Gibbs, current president and chief operating officer and incoming chief executive officer. “Clay’s insights into developing connected digital commerce capabilities and integrated enterprise solutions will be invaluable as we strengthen our business model with technology at the forefront. Gavin is a successful digital leader and proven growth strategist at KFC, our largest and most profitable global brand division.”

Aligning the company’s technology efforts with the digital innovation happening at restaurants will be a key area of focus for the new leadership, Mr. Gibbs said.

“This is an exciting time at Yum!,” he said. “We have an incredible opportunity to leverage our massive scale and expand our digital and technology competencies in order to drive global same-store sales and net-new unit growth and improve franchise unit economics.”