Pizza Hut Singapore Names Liew Li Li as Marketing and Food Innovation Director as Brand Pushes Digital Growth

SINGAPORE — Pizza Hut Singapore has appointed veteran marketer Liew Li Li as its new Director of Marketing and Food Innovation, effective September 1, 2026, bringing more than two decades of experience across quick-service restaurants, consumer goods and digital marketing to the pizza chain.

Liew succeeds Ailsa Tan, who stepped down after roughly three months in the position. The leadership change comes at an important point for Pizza Hut Singapore, which is trying to make the brand more relevant to everyday consumers while accelerating its digital and customer-engagement strategy. 

A former McDonald's marketing leader takes the helm

Liew joins Pizza Hut after most recently working at McDonald's Corporation, where she led marketing transformation and digital initiatives across international and franchise markets.

Her experience included digital commerce, CRM, loyalty programmes, marketing technology, customer acquisition and campaign performance, with work spanning markets including Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia. 

Before McDonald's, Liew held regional digital and media leadership positions at Mondelēz and Kimberly-Clark, working across digital, customer relationship management, e-commerce and media.

That background gives her experience across both traditional brand building and increasingly data-driven marketing — areas that are becoming central to the competition among Singapore's quick-service restaurant brands. 

What Liew will be responsible for

At Pizza Hut Singapore, Liew will oversee the company's marketing and food innovation agenda.

Her responsibilities will include strengthening:

• Customer engagement
• Brand relevance
• Digital growth
• Marketing effectiveness
• Food and menu innovation
• Business growth

Pizza Hut Singapore General Manager Juliana Lim said Liew's combination of brand, digital and commercial marketing experience would be valuable as the company works to strengthen its relationship with customers. 

The timing is significant

Liew's appointment comes only months after Pizza Hut Singapore launched a major brand refresh as it marked its 45th anniversary in Singapore.

The company has been repositioning itself under the global “Feed Good Times” platform, moving away from being seen primarily as a brand for occasional celebrations and toward becoming a more frequent choice for everyday meals.

The refresh included changes to the brand's visual identity, restaurants, packaging, menu boards and digital channels. Pizza Hut also relaunched its Hut Rewards programme with a stronger emphasis on personalised offers, bundles and repeat customer engagement. 

The strategy also included locally inspired product innovation. For its 45th anniversary, Pizza Hut introduced an Otah Laksa Pizza, combining Singaporean flavours with its pizza format. 

A rapid leadership transition

The appointment also marks a quick change at the top of Pizza Hut Singapore's marketing function.

Ailsa Tan was appointed Director of Marketing and Food Innovation in June 2026, after more than 18 years of commercial and marketing experience with companies including Pfizer, Philips and Samsung. She subsequently confirmed that she was leaving because the role was not the right long-term fit. 

Marketing-Interactive reported that during her brief tenure, Tan's team reviewed the customer journey, worked on retargeting customers who abandoned their carts and restructured the marketing team around areas of specialisation. 

Pizza Hut is also strengthening its media strategy

The leadership change comes amid a broader push to modernise Pizza Hut's marketing operations in Singapore.

Earlier this year, WPP Media won the integrated media mandate for both Pizza Hut Singapore and KFC Singapore following a competitive pitch. The agency said the partnership would focus on media strategy, planning and buying, with data, consumer insights and technology playing a larger role in driving business growth. 

That makes Liew's digital background particularly relevant as Pizza Hut attempts to connect its brand, loyalty programme, digital channels and customer data more effectively.

What this could mean for Pizza Hut Singapore

Liew's appointment is more than a routine marketing leadership change.

Pizza Hut is entering its next phase at a time when consumers have more choices, delivery platforms have changed how people order food and QSR brands increasingly compete for both physical dining occasions and digital attention.

With experience at McDonald's, Mondelēz and Kimberly-Clark, Liew arrives with a background that sits directly at the intersection of brand building, digital commerce, loyalty and customer data.

The big question now is whether Pizza Hut can translate that expertise into more frequent customer visits, stronger digital engagement and food innovations that resonate with Singapore's increasingly diverse dining habits.

Accuracy note

The appointment is effective September 1, 2026. Liew succeeds Ailsa Tan, who joined the role in June and subsequently departed. The information about Liew's responsibilities and professional background is supported by multiple industry reports, while the broader discussion of Pizza Hut Singapore's 45th-anniversary strategy and digital direction comes from separate reporting on the company's 2026 brand refresh and media-agency appointment.

WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D