China-based  BeiGene, , a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative molecularly targeted and immuno-oncology drugs for the treatment of cancer, today announced the appointment of J. Samuel (Sam) Su to its Board of Directors.

Mr. Su, 65, retired from Yum! Brands, Inc. in May 2016, where he served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, and was the Chairman and CEO of the company’s China division. During Mr. Su’s 26 years with the company, its China division grew from just four restaurants to over 7,000 to become the largest multinational restaurant chain in China, contributing more than half of Yum! Brands' world-wide revenues in 2015.

“Mr. Su brings deep operational, marketing, brand development and management experience to our Board of Directors. We are very pleased to welcome him to the Board, and anticipate that his expertise will be highly valuable as we grow our commercial business in China and prepare to launch our internally-developed products,” commented John V. Oyler, Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of BeiGene.

Mr. Su started his career with Yum! Brands in 1989 as KFC International's director of marketing for the North Pacific region. In 1993, he became vice president of North Asia for both KFC and Pizza Hut. Mr. Su was named president of Greater China for Tricon Global Restaurants International upon Pepsi's spin-off of the restaurant business in 1997. Before joining Yum! Brands, Mr. Su worked with Procter & Gamble in Germany and Taiwan. Mr. Su currently serves as a director of Li Ning Company Limited, and of the board of directors of Peet’s Coffee China; he also serves as an operating partner at Hillhouse Capital.

“BeiGene’s mission is to become a global leader in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative medicines for the treatment of cancer. I am impressed with the broad internal capabilities, and portfolio of both commercial products in China and late-stage development candidates,” noted Mr. Su. “I am honored to serve on the BeiGene Board and to bring my experience to the outstanding team at BeiGene.”

Mr. Su earned his undergraduate degree at the National Taiwan University, an M.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering at Pennsylvania State University and an MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.