I work for YUM Brands, for which Aylwin Lewis is the COO. Within our organization, he is considered a very fine executive, with strong feelings about people and quality driving business growth. He has no patience for sloppiness, laziness, or poor work ethic. I have met him many times, and believe him to be an honorable man who really makes a difference. I also like him personally very much.
Aylwin is often asked to speak about leadership, for various organizations. He is highly respected inside and outside of the restaurant industry.
When I saw that he was joining the Disney board, I was very excited! He will provide a very powerful voice, and I think will make a positive contribution to the board. Aylwin doesn't do anything "half-way".
He, by the way, is an avid collector of comic books, and considers them to be a very under-appreciated art form. He once told me that he has something like 10,000 of them. I would bet that he really appreciates the art and style of classic Disney. That's an enormous "plus" on my personal balance sheet!
I wouldn't expect Disney to be adding KFC, Pizza, Tacos, Fish (They also own Long John Silvers), or A&W brands to the parks anytime soon. That's not what Aylwin wants. He wants to add value to what is still one of the premier brands in Customer Service.
As a Yum brands employee, and an avid Disney fan, I couldn't be happier about all of this.